Please, Take My Daughter
by StillDreaming85
Summary: Charlie owes the mob an obscene amount of money and it's time to pay up. The problem is, he doesn't have the money. So in a last bid to save his own neck, he offers them his daughter. Dark Romance.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I still get messages asking for this one. So here it is. I'm gonna be reworking chapters and posting when I can. No update schedule.

Big thank you to Sherry for helping me with this one.

 **Edward**

I watched as my brother dragged Charlie into my office, lifting and tossing him across the floor as if he was weightless. Charlie landed in a pile at my feet. His limbs twisted like a contortionist. If he wasn't such a scumbag I might have worried that he had hurt himself, but as it was, I couldn't give two fucks about the man before me.

It took a few seconds before he was able to untangle himself. He moved onto his knees and clasped his hands as if he was about to pray, but none of his prayers would be answered here today. There was no God. Only me.

"Please, Mr. Cullen," he stuttered. His eyes begged me to spare his life, to give him another chance. "I… I just need more time."

His words made the anger inside me boil. I just wanted to kill this motherfucker and be done with it. "More time?" I sneered. That was the problem with people like him. You give them an inch and they want a fucking mile. I had been far too lenient with him already. He was starting to make me look incompetent and I couldn't have people thinking I was incapable of taking care of business. No, I wouldn't allow that.

"I'll get your money," he cried. He actually fucking cried.

The sad part was that he actually used to be one of my best drug dealers, which was why I had given him the chance to repay his debt. I had been more than generous with the amount of time I had given him, but instead of looking for ways to pay me he had been sitting at home, getting high on _my_ cocaine. He was a stupid to think I wouldn't be watching him.

Anger got the better of me. I struck the back of my hand across his face, but it couldn't be helped. The mere sight of him infuriated me. "How dare you come to me and ask me for more time," I hissed.

"I'm sorry," he said, bowing his head, his hand rubbing the cheek I had just struck. "I meant no offense, Mr. Cullen. It's just… I have a daughter. If I die, she has no one left. She will have no one to take care of her. She is all I have left in the world and I am all she has."

"That's not my concern."

"I know that. I apologize for bringing it up. It's just… It's a dangerous world out there… without someone to look out for her God knows what would become of her."

"You should have thought of that before you stole from me." I hissed. I couldn't believe that this scum was trying to play the family card. I was sure he wasn't going to win any awards for being father of the year. If he indeed is a father to her at all. "My only concern is my money since I can't get my fucking cocaine because it's all up your nose." I smacked him again because, well, because I could.

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "Maybe we can come to some sort of arrangement?"

"And what exactly do you have that I would even want?" I scoffed. "My men have already been through your entire house and taken everything of value. You have nothing left to give me."

"I… I… I have my daughter."

His daughter? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The fucker wanted to give me his daughter? "Is this guy for real?" I asked Emmett in disbelief. Emmett merely bellowed out a laugh and shook his head.

"She's very pretty, Mr. Cullen."

My dislike for him was growing and I didn't think that was even possible. What kind of man would offer his daughter to save his own skin? A father should be the one making the scarifies, not the other way about. "Tell me Charlie, is this the same daughter that you wanted me to spare your life for? The same one who couldn't manage without you?"

He hung his head, trying to avoid my gaze, but I wasn't going to let him off that easily.

"Answer me," I growled.

"Yes, Mr. Cullen," he mumbled.

"Does she mean so little to youthat you would offer her up to the devil for him to devour?"

"No, I love her. I just love living more." He laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, almost as if he expected me to find him amusing.

As far as I was concerned, he didn't deserve to live a second more. He certainly didn't deserve to have a daughter. I actually felt sorry for her. I could only imagine what it was like to grow up with a heartless prick for a father. "What's your daughter's name?"

"Isabella," he muttered.

A pretty name. I wondered if she had a pretty face to go with it or was she a lowlife just like her father?

"And where can I find Isabella?" I asked, knowing I would probably find all this information within his file if I cared to look.

"Queen's College. She's probably there right now. She wants to get an education," he laughed. "She thinks she's so smart. You know the type, thinks she's better than the rest of us."

By the sounds of her she was certainly better than her father. I think it was time that I met this, Isabella. "Go and collect her," I said, looking over at Emmett. I watched him walk out the room before I pulled my Glock from its holster and shoved it against Charlie's head. "You claim you love your daughter, but I sincerely doubt that you do. So, I believe it won't bother you to hear that I'm gonna fuck her six ways from Sunday. She's gonna call me Daddy from now on. She'll beg me for my cock like the little whore that she is and when she does, I'll gladly give it to her."

My words got the reaction I was looking for. The bastard still cared for her on some level. Charlie moved to take a swing at me and when he did, I pulled the trigger. I felt satisfied knowing that the last thing this idiot would remember was that his only daughter was going to be mine.

I sighed as I looked down at my clothes. They were splattered in blood and brain matter. It was a nuisance that I would need to change, but I still took great pleasure in claiming another life. My erection was testament to that.

I leaned over my desk to my phone and pressed the button for the reception. "I'm gonna need a clean suit and someone to clean up this mess. Be quick about it. My mother will be here soon."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Big thanks to Sherry for the fast edits.

This is a repost so that's why I was able to update as fast. I can't guarantee it will be like this all the time.

Thank you for all the reviews/follows/favs. My email box has been blowing up. And so many new readers to this story :)

 **Bella**

The sound of movement around me startled me from my sleep. I had done it again. I had fallen asleep in class. I sighed as I grabbed my books, shoving them into my bag. I prayed that Mr. Williams hadn't noticed me sleeping. I was already on my final warning. I stood up and slipped into the line of moving bodies as everyone made their way to leave the class. I hoped to blend in and make out unnoticed.

"Miss Swan, may I have a word?" I flinched as Mr. Williams called out my name. He had caught me. There was no way I was going to get out of this one. I sighed as I turned, making my way to the front of the class where he was standing waiting for me.

"Isabella," he said as he leaned against the front of his desk, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "You fell asleep in my class, yet again."

"I know. I'm sorry Mr. Williams. I promise it won't happen again." It wasn't the first time I had made him that promise and there was no guarantee it would the last either.

"That's what you said the last twenty times, Isabella," he said as he replaced his glasses and stared at me. He looked worn out, tired. I wasn't sure if that was because of me or the stress of teaching was getting to him. "Is everything all right at home?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

His question caught me off guard. He had never asked me this before. "Yes," I stuttered, "everything is fine." I felt bad for lying to him, but what choice did I really have? I could hardly tell him that my father was a drug dealer and our house was filled with people constantly coming and going. That I spent most of my nights on edge, wary that someone would try to come into my room.

"Then I honestly don't understand why you can't stay awake in my class. Does Art History bore you?"

"No," I snapped. "I love Art." My drawings were one of the only things that kept me going.

"You are failing this class."

"I know," I said, looking down at my trainers, fighting to keep the tears at bay. All my efforts to make something of myself, to move away from this life, were failing.

"I don't see I have any other choice than remove you from my class."

"No, please," I begged him, looking up at him now with tear soaked eyes. I didn't care if he saw me crying. I needed this class. "Please, don't do that."

"Maybe you can join the class next year… when things in your life have settled down."

"No, please, Mr. Williams. I will try harder. I'll do anything. Just please don't kick me out of your class."

"I'm sorry, Isabella. I've made my decision," he said, looking at me with sympathy.

I nodded, unable to speak. The reality that my dreams were failing was choking me, suffocating me. I turned away from him before he saw how much this truly hurt me. I made my way out of the class and down the corridor, hurrying outside to get some fresh air.

I hated my father. I thought it wasn't possible to hate him anymore than I already did, but I was wrong. I wanted him dead. All he had ever done was ruin my life. My mother had killed herself to get away from him and now I understood why. He was poison. It didn't matter what you tried to do, how you tried to better yourself. He was always there wrecking any progress you made. Making sure, you stayed in the gutter right alongside him.

I walked over to the picnic table where I usually sat with Rose. At this point, I didn't care who could see me crying or if they were staring. They could all look if they wanted to. They would never understand the life I had to endure.

Rose was already sitting at the table by the time I got there, but she had her head stuck in her phone so she never saw me until I slumped into the seat beside her. "Bella?" she said as she looked up at me. Her face filled with concern. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"Mr. Williams kicked me out his class."

"Oh Bella, I'm sorry," Rose said, pulling me into her arms. "We'll work something out… maybe I can ask my dad to talk to the Dean."

I shook my head against her shoulder. As much as I appreciated her offer, I didn't want Rose to get her father involved. I wasn't sure how much he knew about my father and on the off chance he knew very little, I wanted to keep it that way. There was a good chance he would force Rose to stay away from me and she was one of the only things in my life that kept me sane.

"Isabella?" asked a strange voice. I turned around to see a tall, muscular man standing behind me. One I didn't recognize him, not that I was sure I wanted to know who he was. I had been around his kind long enough to know that he was trouble.

"Who wants to know?" I asked as I tried to wipe all traces of tears from my face.

"Don't get cute with me. Are you Isabella or not?"

"Not," I said, turning away from him. I hoped that he would turn around and leave, but I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. I mouthed the word 'leave' to Rose. She needed to get out of here. I didn't want her to get hurt and I have no idea what was about to happen, but she was as stubborn as me. She simply shook her head, telling me no.

"That guy over there said you are Isabella." The voice from behind me boomed. I turned around to see he was pointing toward Eric Yorkie. "Are you saying I should go and kick his ass for lying to me?"

I sighed. As much as I would love to see Eric Yorkie get his snitching ass beaten, I didn't want to start a commotion that would make its way back to the Dean. I couldn't do anything else that would jeopardize position as a student. "Fine," I snapped. "I'm Isabella. What do you want?"

"My boss wants a word with you," he said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.

 _Shit._ What crap had my father dragged me into now?"Look, I don't know who your boss is and I certainly don't want to talk to him." I pulled my arm free of his grasp and glared at him. I knew if I was stupid enough to go with him there was a good chance I might not be coming back. "Whatever shit my father has gotten into has nothing to do with me. I hate him. He ruined my life the minute I was born. So you're gonna need to take up your grievances with him." The man chuckled. "Oh, you think my miserable life is funny, huh?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really care. I'm only here to collect you."

"She isn't going anywhere with you," Rose snarled as she moved herself in front of me. God, doesn't she know when to stay quiet? I could handle this on my own. I didn't want her getting into trouble.

"I have a Glock that says different," he said, flashing the gun hidden behind his suit jacket.

"I don't believe you'll use it," Rose retorted, folding her arms. "The area is too crowded and everyone here has already seen your face."

"Care to test the theory, Blondie?" He asked, raising his eyebrow, challenging her.

"Rose," I scowled. I knew I had to get her to shut up before she said something that pissed him off. "It's okay, I'll go with him." It didn't look like I had much of a choice anyway.

"Fine, but the second you leave I'm calling the cops," she whispered.

I shook my head. That's the last thing we needed, but I didn't get a chance to answer her before he grabbed ahold of her arm. "Then I guess you're coming too, Blondie." Shit, he must have heard her.

I began to protest, arguing that there was no way she could come with us, but he shot me a glare that warned me he was on the verge of losing his patience. Rose was coming with us whether I liked it, or not.

I quickly moved to her side, taking her arm in mine, hoping to reassure her that everything would turn out okay. Even though I wasn't sure it would. But to my surprise, she didn't seem frightened. She squared her shoulders, jutted out her chin, and walked with an attitude that told the world she was ready.

Maybe there was hope for us after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Big thank you to Sherry aka Banshee69, and to all of you for the love you are sending this story.

I think it's time these two meet, don't you?

 **Bella**

A little while later we arrived outside a large office-like building. The ride here had been quiet to say the least. Our captor hadn't offered us much in the way of conversation and Rose and I had been too worried to say anything in front of him. The building itself looked like any other office type building, that was until we got inside and I noticed all the guards. "Who did you say you worked for again?" I inquired, suddenly feeling very anxious. I could see this boss of his wasn't small-time. Not the type of people my father usually pissed off.

"Down this way," he answered, shoving me forward.

I took the hint. He didn't plan to answer any of my questions. I would be lying if I said I wasn't growing increasingly concerned about meeting his boss. He was certainly packing a lot of heat. I glanced over at Rose. She looked worried too, though she was trying her best not to show it. I reached over and squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her. I wouldn't let anything happen to her.

When we reached the end of the hall, he opened a door which led into an office-type waiting room. "Through there," he said, pointing to the door at the other side of the room. I hesitated, wondering what lay behind the door, but then I reminded myself that I couldn't show him any sign of weakness. So I took Rose's hand and began to pull her forward. "Alone," he barked.

I turned around to glower at him. If he thought I was leaving Rose alone with him, then he had another thing coming.

"Blondie stays here with me," he said, glaring at me, daring me to argue with him.

"No-"

"You can either argue with me, or you can argue with my boss. It's your choice." The bastard folded his arms after that, giving me this smug smile. Like he knew he had me where he wanted me. I certainly didn't want to be arguing with his boss, not when I had no idea what I was dealing with.

"I'll be fine," Rose insisted. "I'll wait here for you."

"If he so much as looks at you the wrong way, you call out for me," I said pulling her into a hug.

"I'll be fine."

I took a deep breath and turned around to face the door, telling myself that I could do this. I had this. I would tell this guy that this was all some sort of mistake and hopefully he would agree with me. I went over to the door, knocking lightly before I entered.

The man who sat behind the desk was a lot younger than I had been expecting and by that I mean he looked to be in his thirties rather than fifties. He had dark brown hair that was combed neatly to the side. I didn't think a strand was out of place. He was dressed in what looked like a designer navy suit. It really brought out the blue in his eyes. Did I mention his eyes were striking? I don't think I ever recall seeing anyone's eyes so blue, but they were mesmerizing, but at the same time there was something altogether cold and calculating about them. "Ah, you must be, Isabella," he said, smiling. "Please, come in. Have a seat."

I closed the door behind me and quickly moved to take one of the seats in front of his desk. As soon as my bum was down on the seat he was out of his chair and walking around the desk to stand in front of me. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Isabella. I'm Edward, Edward Cullen."

He offered me his hand and I shook it before correcting him in regards to my name. "It's Bella," I said, firmly. I hated being called Isabella.

"I suppose you're wondering why I summoned you here?" I bit my tongue from telling him it would be a start. I didn't think getting sassy with him would get me anywhere.

He stared at me a moment before he walked over to a credenza and pulled out a bottle of whiskey, along two glasses. "Your father owed me a great deal of money, you know," he said as he returned to my side. Placing the two glasses on the desk and opening the bottle.

"I'm not sure what that has to do with me."

"Well, when someone dies, their debt usually passes on to their family," he calmly stated as he poured us both a drink and then handed me a glass.

 _Wait, what did he say?_ "I, uh, I don't understand."

"Your father is dead."

And there it was… he had just announced my father's death like he was reading from a menu. The glass slipped from my hand, smashing on the wooden floor before I could even have a drink. I jumped to my feet, staring at him in disbelief. "What do you mean he's dead?" He couldn't be dead. I just seen him this morning.

"I killed him a few hours ago," he said matter-of-factly.

There was a voice in my head, screaming at me to get the out of this room. This man was clearly crazy and I had to get as far away from him as possible before he killed me too.

"There is no need to be scared of me, Isabella. I don't intend to hurt you." He took a step toward me and I instantly took one back. "I apologize for scaring you, that wasn't my intention. I just wanted to be honest with you from the start. No bullshit. Your father was fond of bullshit, was he not?"

I stood, open mouthed, staring at him. I had no idea what he wanted me to say, not that I was capable of saying much anyway. He must have sensed that I needed space because he walked around the desk again, taking his seat.

"Your father owed me a hundred and fifty grand," he stated. "I gave him countless opportunities to repay what he owed, but he... ah, well, I'm sure you know what kind of man your father was."

"I don't understand. Why did he owe you this money?"

"Cocaine. He sold it for me."

"I… I thought he got his drugs from Paul," I said, confused.

"Paul was his handler. Paul works for me."

"I don't have a hundred and fifty grand," I said, horrified, knowing I would never be able to give him that kind of money.

"I didn't expect you did."

"Then what is it you want from me?"

"To be honest, I don't know yet." I looked at him confused. He was beginning to talk in riddles and I had no idea where this conversation was going. He certainly hadn't been the boss I had expected to meet. "It shames me to tell you this… but your father offered you to me as payment, to cancel his debts."

"I'm not for sale," I hissed. He didn't answer. He just sat there, watching me. "I wasn't his to give."

"I'm a generous man, Isabella, but my generosity only stretches so far. I would like something to show for my money."

"And what exactly do you plan to do with me?"

"I don't know," he said as his eyes raked over every inch of my body. I didn't like the way he was looking at me.

"I'm not a whore. If that's what you are thinking."

"I didn't insinuate that you were, though I won't lie, I do like the idea of you warming my bed."

Uh! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was delusional if he thought I was going to sleep with him to pay off my father's debt. I would rather die than warm his bed. Surely, there had to be some other way? "Don't you own a business or something? Somewhere I can work the money off?" I was clutching at straws. I knew that, but I had to think of something, anything to buy me some time and so that I could get out of this office.

"I own several." He answered, eyeing me. "How are you at pouring drinks?"

I didn't know the first thing about pouring drinks, but I was willing to learn, or at least appear to want to learn. "I'm a quick learner."

"Good." He grabbed a pen from his desk and scribbled on a bit of paper before handing it to me. "This is the address of my night club, be there tonight, seven o'clock, sharp."

I looked down at the paper and sighed with relief. That had gone a lot easier than I had expected. I hadn't expected him to agree so easily. "I'll be there," I assured him, before turning to leave.

"And Isabella?" he called after me.

I paused mid-step, not daring to turn around.

"Don't make me come looking for you."

It was almost like he could read my mind. "I won't," I said, before hurrying out the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thanks Sherry xx

Here we go…

 **Bella**

After I meet with Edward, I took Rose home to make sure she was safe. With her out the way I had one less thing to worry about. She was reluctant to leave me at first, but she finally bought into my bullshit story that everything was fine. As far as I was concerned, she didn't need to know the details. She didn't need to know that my father was dead, or that Edward wanted _something_ from me. He just wasn't sure what he wanted, _yet_. Knowing these things would only cause her to worry, or worse, to do something stupid.

These were not the kind of men you messed around with, which was why I was not pleased to see her and our captor making googly-eyes at each other when I came out of Edward's office. I mean, really… sometimes she had zero sense when it came to men. If I didn't know any better I would think she was a man because she certainly thought with her libido more than she thought with her brain. Still… her heart was in the right place, which was why I would do anything to protect her from this underworld she knew nothing about.

After I left Rose, I walked the streets for hours, trying to think of a plan to get me out of this mess, but nothing I came up with was feasible. I didn't have the means to get out of the city. Plus, running from someone like Edward Cullen would take a lot of money. I would constantly have to be on the move, forever looking over my shoulder. Was that the kind of life I really wanted? No. Running would be my last option. For now I had no option but to show up at this bar and see how things played out.

As for my dad, how did I feel about him being dead? I had no idea. I just feel kind of numb about the entire thing. I was more worried what was going to happen to me now than relieved that he was gone, or even grieving that he was dead. I mean, I had wished him dead a thousand times and it wasn't like I hadn't meant it every single one of those times. He had brought nothing but hurt and misery in my life. I just had more important things to worry about right now, like going home. I wasn't even sure if that was a possibility. I wasn't sure if it would be safe. I didn't live in the sort of place where I could go home and close the door to my room. Retreat in my own space. No, there were always people in that house and they weren't the sort of people you would want to know. If word had reached them of my father's death, then there was a good chance that someone else had stepped into his shoes and I had a good idea who that person would be. I would be safer on the streets than going home.

Edward's club was located down by the East River, not that far from the college. On the outside it wasn't much to look at, in fact, I was sure I had probably walked passed it a few times not even realizing it was there. There was no logo or neon sign outside calling for people to come inside. No, it was just subtle sign on the door stating 'Afterglow'.

I let myself into the club, figuring it was what I was supposed to do, since there was no one standing around outside. I followed the sound of voices down the corridor to the main room where I found Edward, my captor and some girl sitting at the bar. They were talking quietly among themselves. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the thing that caught my attention the most was how relaxed the two men looked. They certainly didn't look like the 'all-business' men I had met earlier.

I didn't want to be accused of trying to eavesdrop so I walked closer to them, clearing my throat to announce my presence. The three of them turned to look at me at the exact same time. "You're early," Edward said, glancing at his watch. Now that I was closer to him I could see he had taken his tie from earlier off. He had also unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. His hair was no longer sitting combed to perfection, but rather in disarray, like he had been running his hands through it continuously. I couldn't help but notice how good he looked.

"Maybe she wanted to make a good impression," the girl said, jumping off her seat and walking over me. "Hi, I'm Alice, the brains behind this trio." She offered me her hand and I shook it, not sure what to say.

Edward scoffed. "I would have given you beauty, but brains? I think not."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. He's just jealous that I have the full package."

"I have the full package, too," Edward replied, trying his best to sound offended. "Wouldn't you agree, Isabella?"

 _What!? He was asking me?_ "I, uh." I didn't know how to answer that.

"Leave the poor girl alone," Alice said, frowning at him. I was so grateful for her intervention. Edward, however, seemed to find my unease amusing. "C'mon, let's get you dressed and then I'll show you around." She said marching away. I quickly hurried after her.

Alice led me to a room which I presumed was the staff area. There was a uniform handing up by a locker. She pointed to it and said, "That's yours. Edward guessed your size. He's usually good at that sort of thing so it should fit fine. Why don't you get changed and then we'll begin the tour." Edward was good at guessing women's sizes? I filed that piece of information away for later.

The uniform consisted of black trousers and a low-cut black top that had 'Afterglow' embroidered on the chest. I was glad it wasn't more revealing. I was also glad they gave me something to wear as I wasn't sure my worn jeans and tee would have cut it. After I dressed Alice informed me the locker in front of me was mine. So I shoved my things inside and then we began the tour.

"Have you worked here long?" I asked, trying to strike up conversation and ease my nerves.

"A few years," she smiled. "Edward needed a new manager for the club and I thought I would try my hand at it. It turns out; I'm very good at bossing people around."

"Oh, so you know him outside of work then?" I knew it sounded like I was prying and well, I was, but I wanted to find out as much as I could about the man who now held my life.

Alice giggled. "I should, he's my brother." Her brother? Wow. I guess now that she had said that I could see the resemblance. "He and Emmett both are."

"Emmett?" I asked, confused.

"The muscled one."

"Oh." Well, at least I now had a name for him, but I had no idea he was Edward's brother.

Alice's first stop on the tour was a set of steps that led upstairs. She informed me that their offices were upstairs, but I was not permitted up there unless I had been invited. That it would be in my best interest not to ever be caught up there. I heard the threat loud and clear and had no intention of ever going up there.

She then showed me where the different bars were on the main floor, followed by the restrooms and then another room that I wasn't permitted to enter. There were a lot of no go zones in this club, but that didn't really surprise me considering the owners. I was more than happy to avoid these areas. I had no interest in finding out what they would get up to or what would happen if I snooped.

The last stop on the tour was the basement. She showed me how to change the barrels and where stuff was stored. Though I was pretty sure it went in one ear and out the other. I was going to need to be shown a few times before I got the knack of it.

"Edward wanted me to discuss nights with you," Alice said, as we came back to the main bar. "Does it matter what nights you work?"

I shrugged. "Not really." I figured the more I worked here the less likely I would be sleeping on the streets. That was if I choose to stay and not run.

"Edward said something about college?"

"Yeah, I go to Queens."

"Okay, well, how about you work Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, that shouldn't interfere with your studies too much, right?"

"Right," I agreed. Though working only three nights meant I would have to find other arrangements for the four remaining nights. Edward had mentioned college to her, which surprised me. I thought he would have me working here every minute of the day to pay off the money, unless he was still planning on me paying in another way. The thought worried me.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Thanks to Sherry for the edits.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone celebrating today x

Next chapter (chapter 6) has a lot of new material.

 **Bella**

After the tour, Alice introduced me to one of the lead bartenders. Her name was Bree. She was a small thing, a lot smaller than me, which was saying something as I wasn't exactly a giant. Bree was nice though, really friendly. She seemed to have a large personality, although appearance wise, she did look intimidating. She had the whole emo thing going on, with the black hair, dark eyeliner, facial piercings and tattoos. But once you got talking to her you could see she was a real sweetie pie. It just went to show that you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Perhaps there was a message for me in there somewhere.

Bree showed me the basic stuff in bartending 101, like how to wash the glasses, where to locate things and how to operate the register. After that she had me practice pouring drinks, which really wasn't as easy as it sounded. I could pour spirits easily enough. Even make a simple cocktail, but beer on tap? Yeah, that was a lot harder than it looked. I had no idea what I kept doing, but by the time I was finished pouring it, the glass had more froth than beer. Bree was great though. If it was me, I would have lost my patience by now, but she just stayed calm trying to guide me.

It was at that point that Edward seemed to appear out of nowhere. He said nothing as he walked over to us, nudging Bree out of the way. He took the dirty glass from my hand and set it aside as he grabbed a new one. "You're doing it wrong," he said as he turned me to face the tap. "You need to hold the glass at a forty-five degree angle until it reaches the halfway mark."

He moved behind me then, like unbearably close. I could feel his breath on my neck, his chest pressed into my back and his… Oh god, was that his dick? Was I feeling his semi-hard dick pressed into my ass? I began to move away from him because I was feeling beyond uncomfortable, but he shoved the glass into my hands and then proceeded to put his hands on top of mine, guiding them toward the tap. He took complete control of my hands, showing me how to pour the perfect draft. He made it look so easy and I would have probably been able to concentrate better on what he was doing if he hadn't been so close.

When he was finished, he set the glass down on the counter and turned to face me. "Now you try." I nodded, not sure I would have been able to speak even if I tried. What the hell was going on here? Sure, he was showing me how to pour a beer from the tap, but I dunno… it felt like there was more to it than that. The fact that he didn't move away now it was my turn only confirmed my suspicions. I grabbed a clean glass, praying that I managed to get it right this time. I wasn't sure how much longer I could bear being so close to him. I held the glass exactly like he had shown me, praying the entire time as I pour the beer. The end result was better, a lot better than I had previously poured, but not as good as his.

"Better," he said, agreeing with my thoughts. He moved away from me, giving me my space back, as he turned his attention to Bree. "I think there are some items in the storeroom that require your attention."

Uh, was he dismissing her? Should I be worried? Why did he want me alone? While his attention was still on Bree I took several more steps back, ensuring that we had more than enough room between us. Bree nodded her head and walked off without a word. Perhaps she was used to this sort of thing. The second she was gone, Edward turned his attention back to me. "Alice said you will be working Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights?"

"Uh, yeah…" I said, nervously. Was this the part where he told me that three nights weren't enough? That he wanted me in here every hour of the day, slaving away until I had paid my debts, or rather my fathers.

"That will leave enough time for your studies?"

What? His question caught me off guard. That was certainly not what I had been expecting him to say and the expression on his face told me he was sincere. "Yeah, that should leave me more than enough time for my studies." If I'm not kicked out the college at this rate.

"Good. I want you to concentrate on your studies. If your work schedule becomes an issue and you're having trouble studying, I want you to let me know. Okay?"

Huh? Why did he care if I could or couldn't study? I thought all he was interested in was his money. I didn't even get to express my confusion before he turned and left, not even bothering to wait for a reply.

"What was all that about?" Bree asked, walking around the corner. I turned to face her wondering if she had gone to the basement or if she had been eavesdropping the entire time. How much did she know about me and why I was here?

"I have no idea," I said, turning back around to look in the direction Edward had gone. There was no sign of him anywhere. I wasn't lying to her. I really had no idea about what had just happened or about anything really when it came to Edward. That man was a mystery to me.

"I think he has a thing for you," Bree stated, going back to organizing the bar. I rolled my eyes. He certainly didn't have a thing for me. He just wanted his money, although he did say he liked the idea of me warming his bed and when he had pressed against me he was semi-hard, but nah, that wasn't about me. He has a thing for power. He gets turned on by having control over someone. That was what this was. It had nothing to do with me. "Oh come on," Bree said, watching my internal struggle. "He never comes down to the bars. Do you honestly think he comes down here to show every new hire how to pour a draft beer. I think not. He has a thing for you. It's as clear as day."

I shook my head not wanting to believe what she was saying. "You're reading too much into it."

Bree laughed. "If you say so. What's the history between you two anyway? How do you know him? I mean, last I heard we weren't taking on any more staff, yet here you are."

I shrugged her off, pretending I had no idea what she was talking about. If she was looking for gossip, then she was going to have to find it somewhere else. The last thing I was gonna do was open my mouth and cause trouble between Edward and me. She might not know about his dangerous side, but I did, and the last thing I wanted to do was piss him off. He had killed my father after all.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Big thank you to my ladies, Sherry, Paige, Tiffany & Cristina xx

 **Bella**

"Uh, what the hell are you doing behind the bar serving drinks?"

The night had been going reasonably well. It was busy as hell, but Bree had been looking after me, making sure I didn't get overwhelmed. God, that girl was fast at serving customers. I guess she had been doing this for a long time.

Did I say it had been going well? Yeah, I meant that was until I heard a familiar voice speak to me. I looked up from the bar to see Rose standing on the other side and boy, did she look pissed. I suppose I couldn't blame her. I hadn't told her I would be working here or that it was part of my arrangement with Edward. I had made her believe that everything was fine. Come to think of it, why was she here? She never went out without me and she hadn't said she was coming here. She was also dressed to impress in a cream colored, short-style jumpsuit.

"I'm working, but what the hell are you doing here?" I asked, motioning to her outfit.

"I was invited."

Invited? Oh, hell no. Not on my watch. She didn't need to tell me who had invited her. It could only be one person. I handed a bottle of beer to the customer I was currently serving, not even bothering to ask him for money or if he wanted anything else. I stormed around to the other side of the bar and grabbed Rose. I pulled her away from the crowd to a more secluded area, well as secluded as you could get in a nightclub. "Are you out of your goddamn mind?" I snapped. "First of all, you turn up in a place like this, on your own. Secondly, you come here alone to meet some guy you don't even know. Need I remind you that he practically kidnapped both us today? He's not exactly a Prince Charming." I sighed, exasperated. "I warned you to stay away from him. Why can't you listen to me for once? I know what I'm talking about and how the hell can he even invite you? Did you exchange numbers with him or something?"

Rose glared at me. "You may have warned me, but the last time I checked, I didn't take orders from you. Anyway, he was just doing his job. No one got hurt and we both walked away free. I talked to him while you were in the office and he is actually a pretty cool guy. Not a stupid boy like the losers, I usually date. And you're one to talk. It's not like you aren't keeping secrets from me. When did you start working here? Is that what the meeting was about today? Emmett said this was his brother's club, his brother being the one you had your meeting with today. You know I got more information out of him, than my friend." She shook her head, looking really disappointed in me. "You told me everything was fine, but clearly it's not. Why are you working here and most of all, why are you hiding it from me? I want to know exactly what is going on, Bella, and I want to know right now."

No, this was not happening. I could not believe that he had been telling her things. He had no right. I was trying to protect her and he was dragging her into all this mess. I was putting an end to this shit. "The only thing that is going on right now is that you are going to go home, Rose. I want you to get a cab and when you get home, do me a favor. Delete his number. Never speak to him again." I grabbed her arm and tried to pull her toward the door, but Rose wasn't having any of that shit.

She screamed at me and shoved me off, causing me to stumble back. "Get off me, you psycho. I'm not going anywhere. Stop trying to tell me what to do. This is my life and I'll live it as I please. I just want to know what is going on with you. I'm your best friend. I want to help."

I couldn't believe this was happening. I couldn't believe she was being so stubborn. The last thing I wanted to do was get into a fight with Rose. She was the only person I had, and I certainly didn't want to cause a scene. I didn't think it would go down well with the management. Couldn't she see I was only trying to protect her? She didn't know the first thing about this shady-as-shit-world my father dragged me into and I was trying my best to stop her from ever having to find out. She didn't even know anything about Emmett. So what, she had a conversation with him? He had practically abducted us from the college. Flirting with him should have been the last thing on her mind.

"Ladies, is there a problem here?" I looked to see Emmett. Great, just fucking great. Of course, he would show up now. Hadn't he already caused enough trouble?

"This is a private conversation," I snapped. "And you weren't invited."

"Bella," Rose gasped. "Don't speak to him like that," she said, moving over to his side. "He hasn't done anything wrong."

What the fuck? Seriously? I wanted to grab her and drag her sorry ass away from him, but I didn't. I turned my attention to him instead. "Stay away from her," I growled. "Delete her number. Don't ever speak to her again. You're not good enough for her. She doesn't need someone like you in her life."

I half expected him to snap back at me. I mean, I shouldn't be speaking to him like this, but he didn't take the bait. He just laughed. "Last time I looked, Rose was a fully grown woman and capable of making her own choices. If she wants to continue seeing me then I am going to do just that. It's not any of your business what we do. Anyway, don't you have work to do?" He said, motioning toward the bar.

I looked over at the bar to see Bree impatiently signaling me over. There was a huge line of customers, all waiting to get served. She was trying her best to keep up with the demand, but she was at the bar by herself. I should be helping her, but I didn't want to leave Rose with this creep.

"Go," Rose said, noticing me debating over what to do. "I'm going home anyway. I'm not in the mood for a night out any longer."

"You don't have to leave," Emmett objected, his eyes pleading with her to stay. "We can still have a good time."

Rose shook her head. She looked pretty upset, disappointed even. "No, I just want to go home. This night didn't exactly turn out like I had hoped. You should have warned me she was working here. I would have told you it was a bad idea."

I felt bad. I truly did. I didn't want to see her upset, but I was glad that she was going home.

"I'll walk you out, make sure you get home safely," Emmett said, gently touching her arm. I opened my mouth to protest, but Rose glared at me, daring me to say something. I didn't, for fear I would cause more damage to our friendship.

.

The rest of the night passed fairly quickly. I was glad when the customers left so we could start cleaning the place up for the next shift. Not that I was in a hurry to go home because I knew I couldn't go back there. I had no idea where I would end up, but I'll be happy to get away from here. To say my first shift was eventful would be an understatement.

"You did well tonight," Edward said, approaching the bar. I had been hoping that I would be able to leave without seeing him. I had no idea if he knew about my fight with Rose and Emmett, or how he would feel about me talking to his brother like that. Thankfully, he didn't appear to know.

"Thanks," I said, glancing up at him before looking back down at the glasses I was currently washing. It wasn't that I needed to see what I was doing. I just felt uncomfortable looking at him for various reasons.

"Emmett will give you a ride home when you're done."

Um, what? "No, that's okay. I can make my own way home." The last thing I wanted was to be in a car with Emmett after what happened earlier. Plus, it wasn't as if I was actually going home. I doubt he would gladly drop me off in the streets.

"It's three in the morning. It's not safe for you to be wandering the streets on your own. Emmett will take you home when you're finished. End of discussion." God, he was a controlling asshole. I opened my mouth to protest, but Edward cocked his eyebrow, daring me to challenge him. Something told me I didn't want to do that. I suppose I would rather be stuck in a car with Emmett than Edward, but I had no idea how I was going to get out of going home.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Big thanks to Paige, Sherry, Cristina & Tiffany

Thanks for all the reviews/favs/follows

This one is a little longer xx

 **Bella**

"You know," I said, reluctantly following Emmett to his car. "You don't have to take me home. I can walk." I wanted to walk and I was damn sure the last thing he wanted was to be stuck in a car with me.

"My orders were to take you home," Emmett said, opening the passenger door for me and motioning for me to get in. "So that is what I'm gonna do."

After I got in the car, he closed the door. He hurried around to the driver's side and climbed in. I was still pissed at him because of the Rose situation, but I was more anxious about how all of this was going to play out. There was no way I could go home, but I wasn't willing to tell him that. I didn't want him or his _boss_ to know about any of my problems. So what could I do? Piss him off in the hopes that he would drop me by the side of the road and forget about me? "Do you always do what your brother tells you?" I sassed. "You know I never took you for the obedient dog type, but I guess I was wrong."

Emmett smirked as he started the car and pulled away from the curb. I guess my words didn't have the affect I had hoped for. "Not always, but I'm smart enough to know when to follow orders and when not to."

I scoffed. It sounded extremely exaggerated, even to my ears. "So why are you following orders now? Why take me home? Why not let me walk?"

"Well, for one, you are a young woman and you shouldn't be walking the streets alone at this time of night. That's just asking for trouble. Two… I'm pretty sure if I allowed you to walk the streets and anything were to happen to you it would ruin my chances with Rose. She may be pissed at you, but you are still her best friend. And three, Edward and I think… well, let's just say, one does protest too much."

"Whoa, back up a minute there, pretty boy," I snapped. "You don't _allow_ me to do anything. You don't own me and neither does your boss. He may be forcing me to pay back this debt. One that doesn't belong to me may I add, but that is as far as it goes. No one owns me."

Emmett laughed. "You keep telling yourself that, Bella. Whatever it takes to help you sleep at night."

"And as for Rose, I told you to stay away from her. She's too good, too pure for you to bring her into this world. She deserves to be with a good man. Someone who will treat her right."

Emmett laughed again. "You don't know the first thing about me. So how can you tell if I'm a good man or not? How could you possibly tell if I will or won't treat her right?"

"I know your type. I know what you do."

"No," Emmett said, shaking his head. "You think you know. There is a difference between thinking and knowing. It's not like I was planning on bringing Rose to a sit-down. We were meeting up for a few drinks, planning on getting to know one another. That was it. And do you honestly think telling Rose to stay away from me is going to do you any good? Does she look like the type of woman who likes to be told what to do?"

I didn't answer. Mainly because I knew he was right. Rose wasn't the sort of person who liked to be told what to do. All I was going to achieve by voicing my opinion was forcing them together and that wasn't what I wanted. She was stubborn enough that she would date him, even if she didn't like him, just to prove me wrong.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Emmett smiled. "Now give me your address so I can take you home."

I gave him an address. One that wasn't mine. It was a few blocks from my house. I figured I could pretend to live there. Hopefully he only planned to stop the car just long enough for me to get out. I could walk right up to the front door, acting like I was going inside as he drove away. The residents of the address should be sleeping at this time of night anyway. It should be safe enough.

Well, that had been the plan, but it didn't exactly play out that way. It would seem Emmett had only been asking where I lived to test me and I had failed the test because I had given him the wrong address. When he pulled up in front of my real residence, I looked at him in shock, but really I should have known better. "It was a nice try," he smirked, "but I already knew where you lived."

I sighed as I looked past him, to stare out the driver side window at my _home_ , if you could call it that. The place was a shit hole. The front windows were broken, but no one had bothered to cover them up because no one cared. The bricks on the walls were broken and crumbling from neglect. Only half of the wooden railing on the porch was still standing because that was where my dad's associates were most likely to fight. The entire front yard was filled with litter, beer bottles, cigarette butts and various broken bits of furniture. And that was only covering the parts of the house you could see from the car.

From here, I could see several figures moving around in the living room. Although the net curtain behind the smashed window stopped me from seeing exactly who those figures were. Not that I needed to _see_ who they were. I wondered if word of my father had reached them yet.

"I'll walk you to the door," Emmett said as he turned off the car and unclipped his seatbelt.

What!? Um, no. He was not coming any closer to the house than he already was. This shit was embarrassing. I hadn't even allowed Rose to see 'my home'. Plus, the last thing I needed was him meeting any of the inhabitants inside, or any of them meeting him. "It's okay," I assured him. "It's late. You should head home." I unclipped my seatbelt as fast as I could and pushed the passenger side door open, hurrying around the car, praying that he stayed inside it. It would have even been preferable if he had chosen to drive off. At least then I would have had a chance for escape

But he didn't drive off and there was no chance of me escaping. I had barely gotten halfway up the path when James came storming out the front door. "Where the fuck, have you been?" he shouted. "You should have been home hours ago."

I froze mid-step, looking at James and then daring to look behind me to see if Emmett was still there. Although I knew he was as I hadn't heard his car pull away. "I was working," I stated, weighing up my options. Mouthing off to James would get me nowhere. Well, that was a lie. It would get me a lot of places, but none of them I wanted to go. The only way out of this mess that I could think of was to go to my room and climb out the window. At least that way I would have both men off my back, but in order to do that I had to get past James, which wasn't going to be easy. I could clearly tell he was drunk from the glaze in his eyes.

"I'm tired," I said, faking a yawn. "I'm just gonna head up to my room." I made a move to step around him, but the second I did, James moved to block my path. He had a sly, sadistic smile on his face. I didn't like it.

"Actually, I was thinking you could come and party with us. It's about time you did." I began to shake my head to say no, but James grabbed me by the back of the neck before I could. "I wasn't asking you. I was telling you," he said, squeezing my neck as hard as he could. "Now that your dad is gone, things are going to change around here."

"Take. Your. Fucking. Hands. Off. Her!" Emmett yelled from somewhere behind us. I had been too focused on James, I didn't hear him get out the car. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Knowing things were about to get ugly.

"Who the fuck are you?!" James roared as he drunkenly spun us both around to face Emmett.

Emmett was already by the gate, or where the gate used to be, by the time we turned around. He seemed completely unaffected by the looks James was giving him. I could understand why. James wasn't much to look at. He was skinny and didn't look like he could punch his way out of a cardboard box, but I had seen James fight more times than I cared to count. He was a dirty fighter, with just the right level crazy that helped him take down anyone he fought. It was almost like he didn't feel pain. He got off on it in fact. The more you hurt him, the faster, harder he came back at you. I think that was why my dad kept him around.

"Emmett, it's okay," I said, trying to assure him. Though really it wasn't okay, but the last thing I wanted to do was watch James kill him. Sure Emmett was a lot bigger than James, but I had seen James take down men twice his size.

"You know this punk?" James asked, squeezing my neck and forcing me to face him. I didn't answer him because I was sure if I did my answer would only upset him. James was the jealous type, not that he and I had ever had a thing, but his mind worked in mysterious ways.

"It doesn't look okay to me," Emmett replied, glaring at James. "Plus, I don't think my brother would appreciate him having his hands all over you."

"His brother?" James asked me, confused. "Who the fuck is his brother and what the hell does he have to do with you?"

Really? Did Emmett really have to bring his brother up? He made it sound like Edward and I had a thing, which we did not. Not only that, he was triggering that jealous side in an already crazed, drunken man.

"I don't like repeating myself," Emmett warned.

"I asked you a fucking question, bitch!" James roared at me, shaking me, completely ignoring Emmett as if he wasn't there. When I still didn't answer him, he lifted his hand and slapped me hard across the face. I cried out in shock as I reached for my cheek.

Emmett must have moved forward when we were both distracted because the next thing I knew he was standing right beside us. He punched James square in the jaw, catching him off guard. James stumbled back almost dragging me with him, but Emmett caught a hold of my arm and pulled me to his side. "Bella, get in the car," he said as he pushed me down the path. I opened my mouth to protest, but I never got a word out. He leveled me down with a glare before punctuating every word. "Get. In. The. Car. Now."

I did as he asked. I hurried toward the car, running around to the passenger side and getting in as fast as I could. I even locked the door behind me, like that was going to keep me safe. When I looked back toward the house, I saw Emmett had James by the throat. He was in his face, telling him something, but I couldn't hear a word that was said. As I watched the two of them, I saw James reach into his pocket and pull something out. I knew instantly that it was a knife, even if it was too dark for me to see what he had in his hand. James always carried this black pocket knife around with him and I had no doubt that he planned to use it on Emmett.

I began frantically looking around the car for something to use. Emmett was a criminal he had to have something in here somewhere, right? I searched in the glove box and then below the two seats coming up with nothing. It wasn't until I looked in the compartment between the two front seats that I finally found a gun. I didn't have a clue how to use it, or even how to tell if it was loaded, but James didn't know that, hopefully.

By the time I got around to the other side of the car, it was too late. Emmett was holding his side. There was blood all over his hand. The only thing I could do now was stop James before he tried to do it again. I hoped that Emmett wasn't seriously injured. I mean he had a stab wound, that was serious… I just hoped it wasn't fatal.

I yelled at James to stop as I held the gun up and aimed it in his direction. Both men paused what they were doing and turned to look at me. Emmett looked pissed. I thought he would have been relieved. "I told you to wait in the car." He was right. He had, but couldn't he see I was trying to help him?

"What do you plan to do with that?" James asked, his attention now completely on me. He probably thought I didn't have the guts to shoot him. He was wrong. I might not kill him, but I would take great pleasure in seeing him in pain. I squeezed the trigger. The recoil of the gun as I fired almost knocked me off my feet, which caused me to lose my aim. Instead of hitting James, the bullet hit the roof above the porch, making a piece of wood fall down and hit Emmett on the head.

"Jesus, fucking Christ, Bella!" Emmett roared.

James laughed, but it was an evil sort of laugh. "You dare to shoot a gun at me, you filthy little whore?" I pointed the weapon at him again, intending not to miss twice. At least now I knew the gun had a kick. Laurent and Vicky came rushing out onto the porch as I took my aim. I was surprised it had taken them so long to come out. They both looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Bella, put the gun down," Emmett ordered. I don't think he trusted me to fire it again.

"I think it's time you learned a little respect," James said. He began to unbuckle his belt and pull it from the hoops of his jeans. Yeah, I wasn't going to let that happen. I had seen the beatings he had given with that belt. Yet, as determined as I was for that not to happen, I couldn't stop my hands from trembling; making it harder and harder to take aim. I could do nothing, but stand there and watch him remove his belt.

While James entire attention focused on me, Emmett snuck up behind him. He wrapped his arm around his neck in a sleeper type hold, starving him of oxygen. James tried his best to fight his way out of Emmett's hold, but Emmett held on with sheer determination. I think he'd had enough of this circus show.

When James body finally went limp, Emmett dropped him to the ground and gave him a kick for good measure. Then he stormed over to me, grabbing the gun from my hands. "Next time when I tell you to wait in the car, you wait in the goddamn car. And never, ever fucking point a gun in my direction again, unless you know how to use one. Do you hear me?"

"I was only trying to help. He would have killed you if he had the chance."

Emmett laughed. "If I need your help I'll ask for it." He grabbed me and started shoving me toward the car.

"He stabbed you," I said, pointing to his wound.

"I underestimated him, but that didn't mean he was going to win." He glanced back at Laurent and Vicky as we walked.

"They won't bother you," I assured him.

He took me to the passenger side and put me in the car, before walking back to the driver's side and climbing in. "Where are we going?" I asked, worried.

He never answered. He pulled out his cell instead and hit one of his speed dials, putting it to his ear. "You were right," he said, to the person on the other end. "No, she's here… she's fine… we're on our way now… I'll need the doc to stitch me up when I get there…" He sighed before glancing at me. "I'll explain when we get there."

"Who was that?" I asked as he hung up the phone.

"Edward."

"What did you mean he was right, right about what?" He never answered and I got the feeling he had no intention of answering either. "You know, you should let me drive, you're bleeding."

"I'll survive. I've had worse," he said as he started the ignition and pulled out onto the road. I looked out the window as we drove away. Laurent and Vicky were leaning over an unconscious James. I wondered what he was going to do once he woke up. He wasn't going to be happy that was for sure.

"Don't worry about him," Emmett said, glancing at me.

"You don't know him. You don't know what he'll do to me if he gets a hold of me," I replied.

"And like I said, you don't know us."

I guess he was right. I didn't know him, or Edward, or what they were capable of. Well, that wasn't completely true. I knew they were capable of killing, they had killed my father. They were also very high up in the chain of command. I presumed the top. I guess someone like James seemed small time to them, but still they shouldn't underestimate him.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thanks to my ladies, Tiffany, Sherry, Cristina & Paige xx

Thank you for all the reviews/favs/follows. How about a little EPOV?

 **Edward**

I had just stepped out the shower when I heard a car pull up into my drive. I assumed it was my brother as I had been expecting him. A look out my bedroom window confirmed my thoughts. I watched Emmett as he got out the car. He looked like shit. His face was white as a sheet and his t-shirt was soaked with blood. He probably shouldn't have been driving. I could tell by the way that he was walking that he was struggling. Bella didn't look much better. She was just as white, well, apart from a large red mark she had on her face. Just what the fuck had happened tonight?

Emmett hadn't said much on the phone, but we had suspected that there would be trouble at her house, which is why I had insisted that Emmett take her home. From what Paul had told us about the place it was a shit hole, which hadn't concerned me before, but now that I had taken Bella under my wing I was making it my concern. I was making everything about her my concern. She just didn't know it yet.

I was annoyed that she hadn't told me it wasn't safe for her to go home. If I hadn't insisted that Emmett take her, what would she have done? Would she have gone home and got herself into a situation that she couldn't get out of? I knew she and her friend had shared words earlier tonight. So I doubted she would've gone there. From what I gathered she kept a lot of her life hidden from her friend. Though I doubted she was going to be able to do that much longer. Emmett seemed to have a thing for the blonde. Not that it bothered me, but Bella didn't look too happy about it. I guess she was just going to have to get used to the idea because Emmett wasn't one to let anything stand in his way. Including a 5' 4" brunette.

I quickly dried myself off and threw on a pair of joggers before heading downstairs. As I approached the living room, I could hear Bella and Emmett talking. I paused in the corridor to hear what they were saying.

"Alcohol thins your blood," Bella said, irritated. "You shouldn't drink that when you have a big, gaping hole in your side."

Emmett laughed, but it sounded pained. "You almost sound like you care. Do you want one? You should probably have a drink before your body goes into shock. I'd offer to get you a glass and a bottle that isn't covered in my blood, but I'm not sure I can move right now."

"No," Bella said, firmly. "I don't drink."

She didn't drink? I suppose living with her father, she had seen all sorts of shit. I guess I couldn't blame her for not wanting to touch the stuff, but Emmett was right. She should probably have one to settle her nerves before her body went into shock.

"You don't?" Emmett asked, surprised. "I never took you for the Catholic school-girl type."

Emmett was an ass. He was bleeding all over my house, but he still had the energy to try and get under her skin. I decided to make my presence known. I walked into the living room and took in the scene before me. Emmett was on my couch, holding a cloth to his wound as he drank from a bottle of whiskey. Bella was standing to the side of the couch with her arms wrapped around her torso. She seemed unsure what to do with herself. She also looked like she was about to drop any second if she didn't sit down.

"What happened?" I asked, looking between the two of them. Bella turned to me as I spoke. Her eyes went wide as she gazed over my bare chest. I hoped she liked what she saw. I walked over to her and took hold of her arm, guiding her to the sofa. I sat her down before she fell down and went over to the kitchen area to grab a drink.

My living room, kitchen and dining room were all opened planned. It hadn't been that way when I had moved in, but I had knocked the walls down myself. It was the only thing I had insisted on since this was where I spent most of my time when I wasn't working. I had let my mother take care of the rest of the house.

I poured Bella a large vodka and cranberry, thinking it would be easier for her to drink. I walked over to her and handed her the glass as I looked between them both. Neither of them had answered me yet.

"I don't drink alcohol," Bella said as she tried to hand the glass back to me, but I shook my head, giving her a stern look. I wanted her to drink it. Surprisingly, she didn't argue any further, but began to sip on the drink, albeit begrudgingly. At least she wasn't completely incapable of following orders.

I moved closer to her and lightly grabbed her face; making sure I didn't touch anywhere near the red area. "What happened to your face?" I asked, staring at the mark. It looked like someone had struck her hard.

"I walked into a door," she sassed, trying to wriggle free of my grasp. I had the feeling she didn't like me touching her or being so close. It made her uncomfortable, but it wasn't because she feared me.

"What happened to her face?" I asked Emmett, since it appeared I wasn't going to get any answers from Bella.

"We ran into some trouble at the house."

 _No shit._ "What kind of trouble?"

"There was a guy at her house," Emmett said, strained. "He came out the front door as she was heading up the walkway. He wasn't happy that she was home late. Apparently he had been waiting on her. Bella tried to go around him and that was when he grabbed her. He got pretty hands on, calling her a lot of derogatory names."

"Who was he?" I snapped at Bella. I hadn't meant to snap, but I didn't like that this guy seemed to think he had some sort of claim to her or the fact that he had touched her, hurt her.

Bella looked reluctant to answer me. She tried to turn her head away, but I wouldn't allow her. She had no choice but look at me since I was still holding onto her face. "His name is James Neal. He's a friend of my father… _was_ a friend of my father."

The way she said 'was' bothered me, and for a moment I almost felt bad for killing her father, but I reminded myself what kind of man he was and the notion was gone. "Why was _James_ waiting for you?"

She shrugged, looking down at her hands. "Maybe he thought he would get lucky."

Yeah, I bet he did think he was about to get lucky, the fucking asshole. Though he wasn't about to feel so lucky once I got my hands on him. "How'd he even get close enough to hit her?" I growled at Emmett. "I thought I told you to stay by her side?"

Emmett rolled his eyes at me. "Look, she gave me a fake address. She was desperate to get out the car. She wasn't about to give me any answers. I thought I stood a better chance of getting some if I allowed her to walk up to the house on her own. I never thought for a second that shit was about to go crazy."

"Erm, hello," Bella said, annoyed. "I'm in the room. Please don't talk about me like I'm not here."

I gave Emmett a glare, telling him that this wasn't over before I turned to Bella. "Why didn't you tell me it wasn't safe for you to go home? If I hadn't made Emmett take you home what would you have done?"

"I wasn't aware that I had to tell you every little detail about my life," Bella snarled. "If you hadn't _forced_ me to go home with Emmett then I wouldn't have gone home."

"Where would you have gone?" I asked, curious.

"That's none of your business."

I sighed, finally letting go of her face and running my hand through my hair. This woman sure knew how to get under my skin. I could tell she was going to be a pain in my ass. She was too stubborn for her own good. "Where would you have gone?" I asked, leaning over her, forcing her to lie back on the couch. She had nowhere to go. Nowhere to move. She didn't like it.

"I dunno. I would have probably walked the streets until I found somewhere safe."

I stepped back and shook my head in disbelief. "I think you're missing the point, sweetheart. There is nowhere safe on the streets. If James Neal hadn't gotten to you, then someone else would have." She had seemed somewhat intelligent when I had met her for the first time today, but now I was beginning to wonder.

"In the morning," I said, turning to my brother. "You let everyone know that Bella Swan is under my protection. If anyone so much as even looks at her the wrong way, they answer to me."

Bella stood up, furious. "I don't want to be under your protection. I don't need your protection."

I moved away and ignored her. There was no point in arguing about it with her because it was going to happen whether she liked it or not. She would just need to learn to accept that her life was changing. For the better.

The doctor arrived a few minutes after that. I let him in and then took Bella by the arm, leading her out the room. She looked exhausted. She needed to go upstairs and rest, though I figured that wasn't going to happen without a fight.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked, pulling back once we were in the hallway.

"Upstairs," I replied, smirking, knowing she would get the wrong idea, but I couldn't help myself. Okay, maybe I could understand the pleasure Emmett got from rubbing her the wrong way.

She tried to pull away harder after that. "I told you I wasn't going to warm your bed."

"And I'm not asking you to."

"Then why are you taking me upstairs?" she asked, confused.

"I'm taking you to your room."

Bella shook her head. "I'm not staying here. I can't."

"Why not?"

"It wouldn't be right," she said, glancing at the front door. I assumed if I still didn't have a hold on her then she would have thought about making a run for it. Not that she would have gotten far.

"It's late. It's only for a night. A few hours even. Surely, you can manage that?" I asked, cocking my eyebrow, challenging her.

"A few hours," she said, repeating my words. "Okay, I suppose I could handle that."

I smiled and began to lead her upstairs, knowing she would be staying here for a lot longer than a few hours.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Thanks to my ladies, Paige, Sherry, Tiffany & Cristina xx

 **Bella**

I laid in bed exhausted. As soon as Edward had shown me to my room, I had gone to bed, too tired to do anything else, but I hadn't managed to get a wink of sleep. So much had happened in the space of a day and I was struggling to wrap my head around it all. I had gone to class expecting it to be just like any other shitty day, but that hadn't been the case. My father was dead. He had been killed by the man whose roof I was currently lying under. I still didn't know how I felt about that.

I didn't hate Edward for killing him. I knew that much. My father being gone made my life easier, or at least, it was supposed to make my life easier. Edward had never been a factor I had taken into account when wishing my father dead. He wasn't supposed to care about my existence or make me pay for a debt that wasn't mine.

With my father out of the picture, things were supposed to be easier. I had planned to disappear. Start a new life, but I wasn't sure that was possible now. If I ran, I was sure Edward would come after me. He had stated as much. Plus, it wasn't like I had the resources or the money to run. I couldn't even go home to collect what little possessions I did have. If I ran it would be with nothing but the shirt on my back, and exactly how far would I get before he found me? Was it even worth the risk?

I sighed, getting out of bed and heading toward the en suite. I ran the faucet and splashed the water on my face before staring at myself in the mirror. If I stayed, what exactly would happen to me? I had the feeling that Edward would force me to stay here, but for how long I wasn't sure. He was already forcing me to work at his club. How long until he was controlling every aspect of my life? He had already told Emmett to let everyone know I had his protection. Could I live under the thumb of a powerful man? Is that the life I wanted?

I turned the faucet off and ran my fingers through my hair trying to tame the waves. I still looked like shit, but it was the best I could do without any of my things. I didn't even have clean clothes to change into. I wasn't a materialistic person by any means, but not having the basic necessities to take care of myself was depressing.

I left the room and headed downstairs. It was still early. I had no idea what I would do today or where the day would lead, but my first thoughts were to get out of this house. I had hoped that Edward and Emmett were still asleep, which would make escaping easier, but those hopes were dashed when I reached the hallway downstairs. Edward was sitting in the living room with three other men. One of those men was Paul, my father's supplier. I didn't recognize the other two. "Good morning, Bella," Edward said, looking directly up at me. I had tried to be quiet so that he wouldn't notice me, but this man seemed to have some sort of ninja senses.

As soon as he spoke to me, all the other men in the room turned around to face me. At that moment in time, I wanted nothing more than to open the front door and run out of the house and to never have to see Edward or his goons again, but I went for the diplomatic approach instead. "I just wanted to say thanks for giving me somewhere to crash last night. I appreciate it, but I have to go. I have stuff I need to take care of."

I wasn't delusional. I didn't think Edward would just let me go, but a girl could hope. "Give me a minute," Edward said to the men. He got up from the couch and walked over to me. The men all began chatting amongst themselves, giving us a false sense of privacy. "Where are you going?" he asked once he was standing in front of me.

"To see Rose," I answered, saying the first thing to come out of my mouth. I hadn't thought to see her before and I wasn't even sure she would want to see me after last night, but Edward didn't need to know that. He only had to believe that I wanted to go and see my friend and make amends.

"You still look tired. Why don't you go back to bed and rest? Did you even manage to get any sleep?" he asked. He almost sounded concerned.

"I had enough," I lied. I glanced at the door and then looked back to him. Freedom was so close I could almost taste it. "I just want to go and talk to Rose. Sort things out."

"I sent Alice to the mall to buy you new clothes. At least wait until she gets here so that you can shower and change." I looked at him surprised. Why would he send his sister to buy me new clothes? If I _owed_ him money, then it didn't make sense for him to be spending money on me. Unless it was some sort of trick and he was adding the amount he had spent onto the amount I owed, which wasn't right or fair by any means. I hadn't asked him for anything.

"You shouldn't have done that," I said, shaking my head. "I didn't ask you to buy me anything."

Edward sighed. "I know you didn't, but I wanted to help you. I'm not asking you to pay it back, if that's what you are worried about. I did it because I wanted to."

I glared at him. "I'm not a charity case. I don't need your help. I got on fine, long before you ever came into my life." I made a move toward the door, but Edward blocked my path.

"If you are going out I want you to take someone with you. I don't want you going out on your own, not until I find James." The way he said it left no room for argument. He stared down at me, daring me to argue with him. I wanted to. God, I wanted to tell him where he could stick his orders, but I feared if I did, he wouldn't allow me to leave at all. So I bit my tongue and said nothing. Instead, I let my eyes convey my displeasure. "Jasper," Edward said, snapping his fingers. "Please take Miss Swan wherever she needs to go. Keep her company and when she is finished with her errands, bring her back here."

I looked over Edward's shoulder to see a blonde haired man stand up. He was tall like Edward and Emmett, but he wasn't anywhere near as bulky. That didn't mean he looked any less intimidating. He had the eyes of a man who had seen and done far too many horrible things in this world. They were filled with pain.

Great, my fucking babysitter was a psychopath.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Thanks to my ladies, Paige, Sherry, Tiffany & Cristina xx

Happy Easter to all who celebrate xx

 **Bella**

Rosalie lived in a townhouse in one of the nicer areas of Queens. Her father was a successful businessman who various endeavors. I couldn't tell you what they were; all I could tell you is that Rose's life was a complete one-eighty from mine. Rose had never experienced the struggles in life I had. I had done my best to shelter her from the cruelties of life. Her father, Richard, liked to shelter Rose too. She was his only child. He had lost his wife, Rose's mother, to cancer when Rose was just a young girl. So he was very protective of her.

I guess you could say that was what bonded Rose and me; we both knew what it was like to grow up without a mother and in a sense we became sisters. We fought like sisters too, which is why I knew she would still be pissed off with me about last night, but she would still be willing to speak to me. Albeit begrudgingly.

"What are you doing here?" Rose asked as she answered the front door. Her eyes went from me to Jasper, who was standing mere feet behind me, watching. He had yet to speak one word to me. I had gotten the silent treatment the entire way here. Not that I had spoken to him either. I was too pissed off, but if you are going to be following someone around the least you could do is talk to them, right? Try and convince them that you're not the psychopath your demeanor is giving off. He hadn't even asked for Rose's address. He had known where she lived. That shit freaked me out.

"Can we talk?" I pleaded.

"Fine," she said, opening the door further so I could enter. "I hope you're here to apologize."

I took a step toward the open door and then stopped. Jasper didn't plan to come in with me, did he? I could hardly talk with him around. I glanced over at him. He hadn't moved from his spot, his facial expression gave nothing away. "You're gonna wait here, right?" I asked, but I got nothing in return. I turned around to face Rose, shrugging when she gave me a questioning look. I had no idea what his deal was.

I followed Rose inside the house alone. Jasper stayed outside. We went upstairs to her bedroom out of habit. I knew her father was probably out working and the staff wouldn't bother us, but we were used to going to her room when we had things to discuss. "So who is the guy?" Rose asked as she sat down on her bed.

"His name is Jasper. He works for Edward, that's as much as I know."

"Okay, so why is he following you around?"

"Because Edward ordered him to," I sighed. "Look Rose, I'm in trouble. A shit load of trouble. I wouldn't have brought this to you if I had any other choice, but I can't even go home. I need to borrow money and when I say borrow; I mean I may never have the chance to pay it back. I may never even see you again after today. I also need your help to change my appearance. Maybe cut or color my hair, as well as borrow some of your clothes too."

"Bella, slow down. What are you talking about?" Rose asked, worried. "What kind of trouble are you in? And why are you planning to go on the run? Surely things can't be that bad."

I rolled my eyes. She really had no idea. "My father's dead, Rose. He owed money to the wrong kind of people. People like Edward and Emmett. They want _me_ to pay it back. I don't have that kind of money, Rose, which is why I was working at the club."

"Wait, hang on a minute," Rose said as she stood up, trying to wrap her head around it all. "Your father is dead? When did he die?"

"Yesterday."

"Ugh. You told me everything was fine. Why would you lie to me like that? When are you going to see that you don't have to take on the world by yourself? I'm your best friend, Bella. I have your back."

"I know, Rose. I just… you're not tarnished by this shit. I wanted to keep it that way."

Rose walked over to me and pulled me into her arms, hugging me tightly. "I'm sorry about your father. I know you didn't have the best relationship, but losing him still has to hurt. How can you even think about running when there is a funeral to plan?"

I pulled away from her, shaking my head. "I don't think there will be a funeral, Rose. When I said he was dead, I meant he had been killed. I presume he's lying at the bottom of a 6ft hole in ground by now."

"Who killed him?" she asked, warily.

I cocked my eyebrow at her. "Who do you think?"

"Emmett?"

"No, Edward, but it might as well have been Emmett. They are both cut from the same cloth. Don't you see Rose? That is why I warned you to stay away from him. This is why I got so angry when you wouldn't listen. He's dangerous. You have to promise me that you'll stay away from him. Block his number and never speak to him again. I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you."

"I, uh, I just can't imagine him doing anything like that," Rose said, stepping away from me, staring into space. "I mean, I knew he wasn't a saint, but I still thought he was a good guy."

I grabbed her arm and spun her to face me. "Promise me, Rose," I said, sternly. "When I am gone, promise me that you'll have nothing more to do with him."

"Where are you going to go?" she asked, concerned, deflecting from what I asked her.

I sighed, letting her arm go. I knew she wasn't going to make any sort of promise to me. I had just told her that they had murdered my father, but apparently she still wanted to find the good in him. "I really have no idea," I answered. "I know running isn't the smartest idea, but it's all I have. On the way over here I tried to come up with a plan. A way out of this mess, but I've got nothing. Disappearing is my best option."

A knock at her bedroom door froze both of us in place. I stared at Rose terrified that Jasper had somehow followed us up here and had been listening to every word I had said. "Who is it?" I mouthed to her.

Rose shrugged, signaling that she had no idea. She made her way over to the door and answered it. I was relieved when I saw it was her father standing there. Though I still worried how much he had heard. "Rosey, darling," he said, smiling at her before he glanced over her shoulder at me. "I didn't realize you had company."

"Hello Mr. Hale," I said politely.

"Are you okay, Bella?" he asked, staring at me with concern. "You don't look your usual self."

Rose saved me from answering. "Bella just dropped by for a chat. Is there something you need, dad?"

"Actually, there is. Do you have five minutes? I wanted to discuss something with you in my office."

"Sure," Rose said, looking over at me. "Bella, wait here. I won't be long."

While it wasn't unusual for Rose's father to call her into his office, the particular timing had me worried, but I still waited in her room. Five minutes, turned into ten, and then twenty. Before I knew it a whole half an hour had passed. I was growing increasingly impatient. When Rose's bedroom door finally opened I sighed with relief, only it was short-lived. Edward stood in the door frame.

"No," I gasped, scrambling to the other side of the room. "What are you doing here? You can't be here. You don't belong here."

Edward said nothing as he walked over to Rose's bed and sat down, patting the space beside him. He was crazy if he thought I was going to walk over there and sit beside him. He shouldn't be here. Was that why Rose and her father had taken so long? Had Rose called him? Would she do that to me? Would she betray me?

"Richard called me," Edward said, eyeing me. "He became concerned after he walked past Rose's room and heard the two of you talking. Of course, with me putting the word out about you being under my protection he knew immediately which Edward you were talking about. He told me that you were planning on running… I don't have to tell you my feelings on that. Tell me Bella, how did you plan to get past Jasper?" I kept my mouth closed. I wasn't about to tell him my plans. I may need them in the future.

He patted the space beside him again. I shook my head. "Sit Bella," he said, in a tone that left no room for argument. I hesitated. His eyes warned me that he would make me sit if need be. I sighed, walking over to him and sitting down in the space beside him, making sure I kept as much distance from him as I could. "I think it's about time we had a little chat, don't you?" I never replied. I guess it was my turn to play the mute.

"I must confess that I have no interest in you paying back your father's debt. In the beginning I just wanted to meet you. I wanted to see who Charlie's daughter was. When I met you I felt the urge to help you, but you came across as so stubborn and strong-willed. I didn't think you would appreciate or accept my help. So I decided to make you believe that I wanted you to pay back the debt. That way I could keep an eye on you, find a way to break down your walls and help you. I didn't think it would be so hard, but you are so untrusting, and I admit this James Neal wasn't a factor I took into consideration.

"So I will tell you what is going to happen now. You are going to come downstairs with me. We are going to get into my car and we will go back to my house. It will become your home for the time being. You will forget all thoughts of running away. You will also not leave my house without protection because that is in your best interest, at least until James is found. You will also not fight me on this. You will accept my help and maybe in time you will learn to trust me. I may be a bad man, Bella. I may have killed your father, but I am not made of stone. I help people out when I can, and God help me, I am going to help you whether you like it or not."

"I…" I stared at him, unsure what to say. Was this a ploy to get me to go home with him and cooperate? No, the look on his face was sincere. I wanted to believe the worst of him because I was only use to seeing the bad in people, but he appeared to be completely genuine.

"It's going to be okay, Bella," Edward said as he took my hand and pulled me to my feet. He never said another word as he led me downstairs and from the house. I didn't even get to see Rose before I left. My mind was spinning a mile a minute as I tried to take everything in. He said he wanted to help me, that he was going to help me whether I liked it or not. I guess I had no other choice but let him.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N** _:_ Thanks to my ladies, Paige, Sherry, Cristina & Tiffany xx

Sorry I got caught up in a book series called the Rock Chicks and didn't get much (any) writing done last week.

 _Bella_

Going home with Edward felt strange, just being around him felt strange. I didn't know what to say or how to act. I wasn't used to people wanting to help me without some alternative motive. He said he was going to help me whether I liked it or not, but how could I ever trust him? I mean, Mr. Hale was someone who I never thought would be associated with the likes of Edward, but he had been the one to call him. He had given me to Edward on a silver platter, just like my father had. How could I ever trust anyone in my life when they all seemed so corrupt?

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Edward asked, eyeing me from across the table. After we had arrived at his home, he had insisted he would make us something to eat. I had told him I wasn't hungry, but he wouldn't hear any of it. So here I was, sitting across the dining room table from him, pushing food around my plate.

"How do you know Mr. Hale?" I asked, not expecting that he would answer me.

"He's a business associate," Edward replied without any hesitation.

"You mean he's a crook?"

"No, I mean he's a business associate. I do own perfectly legal businesses, Bella. Richard is someone I deal with from time to time. He has a good head for business. He makes a fortune at what he does."

"And what exactly is it that he _does_?" I queried.

"You don't know?" he smirked.

"Would I be asking if I did?"

"No," Edward smiled. "I don't suppose you would." He stood up from the table, grabbing his plate and making his way over to the kitchen area. I guess he had no intention of telling me into what Rosalie's father did for a living.

I followed his lead, picking up my own plate and walking over to the kitchen. I scraped off the food I hadn't eaten into the garbage disposal and put my plate in the dishwasher like he had. After that I didn't have the first clue what to do with myself. Did I just hide away in my room to wait this out? Avoid Edward as best as I could. How long would that take and would he even let me go after all this was over? I was effectively a prisoner in his house. He said I couldn't leave unless I had someone with me. Would he even allow me to leave and go when and where I wanted?

"I have to go out soon," Edward said, bringing me from my thoughts. "Jasper is coming to sit with you. Would you like a tour of the house before I go?"

Jasper was coming to sit with me? That sounded like fun. Not. Although Jasper hadn't been there when Edward and I had left the Hale house, I was sure he wasn't happy that I had planned to run on his watch. I wasn't sure how he would react to me after that. As worried as I was about Jasper's reaction, I found myself agreeing to the tour for lack of anything better to do.

Edward's house was big. I mean anyone could have told you that from looking at it from the outside, but I didn't realize how big it was until I saw inside. The downstairs space was mostly taken up by his open planned kitchen/dining room/living room area. On the other side of the hall, by the front door, he had an office. Beside it was a large rec room with a bar. There was also a private sitting area to the rear, with French doors that looked out onto the backyard.

His home had a lot of French doors and large windows. I had a feeling he liked light and space, even so, I felt it was rather risky for someone of his occupation to be so exposed. I mean, it wasn't like his house wasn't secluded. It was. The house was surrounded by trees and bushes, it was well covered. It even had its own private driveway, but it was still in the middle of a community near Little Neck Bay Shore, which was surprising. I didn't figure criminals lived in the middle of nice communities. I had expected him to stay in the middle of nowhere, but I guess I was wrong.

The basement of the house had a fully equipped home gym, including its own shower room. It also had a big family room with a home theater system. Upstairs there were five bedrooms, all with their own en suites. Again, all of them were large rooms. It was when we were looking around upstairs that I found out that Edward's room was right across from mine. I didn't like being that close to him, but thankfully I wouldn't need to leave my room to shower or anything like I did at home.

After the tour, Edward insisted that I make myself at 'home'. I was free to go anywhere in the house that I wanted, other than his office. He also reiterated that he didn't want me to leave the house unless I had someone with me. Apparently that included the backyard. After our chat, he headed to his room for a shower, and I went to mine needing some breathing space. As soon as I walked into the room, I saw that the bed was covered with shopping bags. Edward had said that he had sent Alice to the mall to buy me clothes, but surely they couldn't all be for me. I peeked in the bags, noting that she had bought me more than enough clothes to last me a lifetime. All of them were high end, more expensive than I was used to. But she hadn't just bought me clothes. She bought me shoes, provided hygiene supplies, beauty aids, the whole shebang. I doubted there was anything she had forgotten.

I felt a lump form in my throat as I looked at all the bags. Part of me wanted to pick them up and take them to Edward, refuse to accept them. I wanted to tell him to take them back. But that was my pride talking. The other part of me knew that I needed to accept them, that he had done this for me because I had nothing but the clothes on my back. Plus, no one, my own father included, had ever done something so nice for me.

For that reason, I forced down the lump in my throat and swallowed my pride. I began unpacking the bags and putting them away in the walk-in closet and bathroom. As I unpacked, I found a new cell hiding away in one of the bags. It was the latest iPhone. I'd never owned a proper cell phone. My last one was a burner and when it had died, I hadn't been able to replace it. Not that I had been able to afford minutes for it, but at least it had been a way of keeping in touch with Rose. She would be the one to call me. Mr. Hale had always made sure she had the best of everything. My father didn't care. I eventually learned not to ask him for anything because I wasn't going to get it anyway.

When I had finally put everything away, I went for a shower, using the new products that Alice had bought me and I will admit by the time I came out I felt a lot better. I felt clean, relaxed and dare I even say, pampered. I put on a clean set of underwear, joggers and spaghetti strap top and headed over to the bed to look at my new cell phone.

I powered it up, feeling excited as I saw the apple load on the screen. It took a couple of minutes to power and when it did a message appeared instantly on the screen. It was from Alice.

 _I hope you like your new phone and the clothes I got for you. If anything doesn't fit, let me know and I'll exchange it. Or if there is anything else you need just let me or Edward know._

I smiled down at the phone. I was glad that I was presented with an opportunity to thank her.

 _Clothes/phone/makeup /etc are great, thank you, but I think you bought too much._

I saw three dots appear at the bottom of the screen and then Alice's reply appeared almost instantly. I guess the dots had implied she was typing.

 _Nonsense. I was only following Edward's orders and he wanted to make sure you were well_ _provided for_ _._

 _Well, I am now. Thank you._

I replied. Not sure what else to really say. I guess since I had thanked Alice, I should probably thank Edward as well. I hadn't reacted kindly when he had told me about sending Alice shopping earlier. I may not trust him, but everything they had bought me was certainly going to make my life easier. To which I was grateful.


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N:**_ *waves* I'm so sorry this one took so long. I had to keep coming back and looking at it from different angles trying to figure out way my muse wanted it. Turns out it was Edward's turn to speak and not Bella.

Huge thank you to my ladies, Paige, Sherry, Cristina & Tiffany xx

I truly appreciate your patience. I'm sorry I don't have the time to reply to review, but please know I read every single one. I'm grateful that you all take the time to leave them xx

 _Edward._

I couldn't believe she'd been planning to run. I mean, I could -she was a spitfire, but still- what had she been thinking? How had she planned to survive? Had she even considered what would've happened if James had caught up to her when she wasn't in my protection? The fucker had gone into hiding after his confrontation with my brother, but I wasn't worried, not when I knew Bella was safe. My sources would catch up with him sooner or later. Cockroaches like him always come crawling out the woodwork, but the thought of her being out there alone, unprotected, made my blood boil.

She hadn't been thinking, that much was clear, and I knew she was smarter than that. Surely, she could see I meant her no harm? She had trust issues. I understood that, and I couldn't blame her. If I'd had Charlie for a father, I was certain I'd have trust issues too. That was the reason I told her I wanted her to pay back the debt her father owed. I knew she would never accept my help. She wasn't a charity case. She was a survivor, but unfortunately for her, she had forced me to play my hand. Now she knew the truth, that I wanted to help her. I wasn't interested in the debt. That doesn't mean I didn't feel the loss of the money, but I wasn't a heartless bastard. I wasn't going to force her to pay back a debt that wasn't hers, especially when she had no way of paying back said debt.

Why did I even care? That was a good question. Like I'd told Bella, I wasn't a good man, but that didn't mean I didn't try to help people when I could. If you helped people who were down on their luck they remembered that shit. They gave you their loyalty. I looked after the people in my community. It made good business sense. Which was why I knew James wouldn't stay hidden for long, someone would see him and report back to me.

Bella also reminded me of a brown eyed beauty from my past that I had been unable to save. She had the same deep soulful eyes. I hadn't been in a position to help her at the time, and she had paid the price with her life. I guess you could say the soft spot in my heart was because of her. However, just because I had compassion, just because I was capable of empathy, didn't mean I was a pushover. I could be a ruthless motherfucker when I needed to be. You didn't survive in this world being soft.

"Are you even listening to me?" My brother whined.

I brought myself from my thoughts and looked over my desk at Emmett, who was standing on the other side looking impatient. We were in my club, Afterglow. It was where I did most of my business. I nodded to Emmett signaling he had my full attention.

"As I was saying, Charlie's replacement has been setup. He'll be receiving his first shipment tonight." I nodded. Finding a replacement for Charlie hadn't been easy, but I'd been searching for one for some time. I had the feeling the fucker wouldn't have been able to pay me back, and even if he had been able to pay me, his days had still been numbered. I had hard rules when it came to selling drugs. No kids. No selling on the streets. I liked to keep my streets clean. Charlie had become sloppy when he started snorting my product. I had received reports of him and his people dealing to school children. That shit didn't fly with me.

I wanted to completely move away from the drug trade, and I'd been putting the wheels in motion since taking the reins from my father a few years ago. But drugs made money, and money made the world go around. Until I could find a viable option to sustain us all, the drugs had to stay.

"You're doing it again," Emmett muttered. "What is with you? Why do you keep spacing out? Is it the girl?" I shook my head, rubbing my temples, not willing to admit to my brother that yes, it was the girl. "Rose has been burning up my phone since your little stunt today. She wants to see Bella."

"No one is stopping her from seeing Bella, but after _their_ stunt earlier today, they won't be left unsupervised. I can't trust them not to cook up some half-cocked plan."

Emmett nodded. "I'll let her know she can see her. Maybe I can bring her over to the house?"

I smirked at my brother's eagerness. He may talk about my head being up my ass for this girl, but he was equally smitten. "Why don't you bring her over to the house tomorrow night? We can order some takeout. I'm sure it will do Bella good to see her friend and realize I'm not trying to stop her from living her life."

"I'll let her know. So did Bella say much after you brought her home? Jasper's pissed that she thought she could slip past him so easily."

"I have no doubt that Bella thought Jasper would be an easy mark. She clearly underestimated him, but that's not a bad thing. It will give him an advantage should she try anything else. It's one of the reasons I'm keeping him on her, and no, we haven't really spoken. I made her something to eat when we returned to the house and she asked about Richard. Of course I wasn't willing to give her much information. I think she feels betrayed by him and his loyalty to me. I guess she thought if he was going to be loyal to anyone, it would be her."

"Yeah, I think he would rather risk upsetting her, than pissing you off. What would you have done if he hadn't told you and their little plan worked?"

I shook my head. "She would never have gotten past Jasper, and even if she had, I wouldn't stop looking for her until I found her."

"Pretty intense for someone you just met, eh?" Emmett asked, grinning from ear to ear.

I refused to go there with him. "Don't you have things you should be taking care of?" I asked, annoyed. "I want you to make sure that shipment goes smoothly, and I want eyes on Charlie's replacement." I didn't like welcoming new people into our trusted circle. The man had been vetted of course, but one could never be too sure.

Emmett buttoned his suit jacket as he made his way to the door. "I'll let you know how it goes."

After he left, I pulled my phone out. I told myself I wasn't checking for a message from Bella, but I was lying. Alice mentioned earlier Bella messaged her to thank her for the new things. I'd expected, or rather hoped, she would message me too, but so far she hadn't. It was disappointing. I knew that I could just as easily reach out to her, but for some reason, it was important to me that she made the first step.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N** : A big thank you to my ladies, Tiffany, Paige, Sherry & Cristina for the super quick turnaround.

Sorry this has taken so long to write. Hopefully life will allow the next one to be quicker x

 _Bella_

I had drawn Edward a picture to say thank you for sending Alice shopping for me, but as I stared down at the likeness of him, I regretted my decision. It had been a stupid idea. I didn't know what I'd been thinking. Why the hell would Edward want a picture of himself, let alone one that I'd drawn? Sure, it wasn't the worst drawing in the world, but the sketch wasn't even a true representation of him. No, rather than drawing him as I saw him, for some strange reason, I'd drawn a romanticized version of him. He was smiling in the sketch. His eyes were warm and his hair was messy, unlike his usual controlled style. He looked beautiful, relaxed, and happy. Like I said, what had I been thinking?

I sighed as I scrunched up the drawing paper in my hand, tossing it in the nearby trashcan. I told myself it didn't matter that I'd spent most of last night and this morning drawing it. There was no way I was going to show it to him. I wasn't willing to risk any sort of negative reaction from him. I wasn't willing to expose myself like that, and rather than keep it, I would prefer to just throw it out and forget about it.

I didn't even know why I couldn't just say 'thank you' to him like any normal person would. That was what normal people did, right? They said thank you when they did nice things for each other. Ugh, I should have just texted him when I texted Alice yesterday, but it was too late to do anything like that now.

No, I was going to have to say thank you in person. The thought of doing so had my stomach in knots. I didn't know why I found it so hard to approach him or talk to him. Sure, I still didn't trust him in the slightest. I wasn't sure I ever would, but currently, he was the only one in my corner batting for me. At least, I believed he was batting for me, or he made it seem that way… God, I had no idea what to believe and what not to believe. He seemed genuine when he said he wanted to help me, and he wasn't willing to take no for an answer. I had no choice but to accept his help. I found the thought both soothing and infuriating. I wasn't even willing to digest those feelings.

I sighed, getting off the bed and straightening my clothes. I was wearing a simple pair of leggings and a cross knit jumper, both of which felt like silk on my skin compared to what I was used to wearing. I was sure the two items cost more than my entire wardrobe at home, but I tried not to think about that. _It's just clothes_ , I reminded myself. _Expensive clothes_ , but money doesn't mean anything to the likes of Edward Cullen.

I suppose it would be best to just go downstairs and get this over with. I couldn't hide in this room forever. I mean I could, but that would make me look childish, gutless, and I wasn't willing to look weak in Edward's eyes. I hadn't stepped a foot out of the room since he'd given me the tour yesterday, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he came looking for me, even if it was just to make sure I hadn't snuck out. Come to think about it, I haven't eaten since he cooked for me yesterday either and now that I was thinking about food, I realized I was ravenous.

I wandered downstairs and into the living area, which opened up to the kitchen. It was there I found Edward, cooking breakfast. The smell of food cooking assaulted my nose as soon as I left my room and my feet had practically led me here on their own. Edward was looking a little less put together this morning. He didn't have his usual suit jacket on, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His hair didn't even appear to be combed into its usual style. He actually looked a lot more like my sketch this morning than he usually did. He looked relaxed, happy… and dare I say, beautiful.

He glanced to his left and caught me staring at him. "Hey," he greeted me warmly. "I was beginning to wonder if you ever planned to leave your room. I thought I was going to have to come up there and get you."

"Sorry," I said, unsure what else to say. "I didn't think you would notice I wasn't around."

Edward stared at me strangely before grinning. Did I mention he had a striking smile? Shit, I shouldn't be noticing things like that. "Bella, I told you that you were free to wander the house as you pleased. I don't expect you to spend your time holed up in your room."

"I wasn't held up in my room," I said, defensively. "I was tired." The truth was I had been tired, but I didn't want him thinking I'd been hiding from him. As a matter-of-fact, it had actually been kind of nice to kick back in my room and not worry about a thing. I didn't have to sleep with one eye open. I knew I'd safe. It was possibly the best sleep I'd had in a long time.

Was that something burning? I glanced behind Edward to the stove. The skillet he'd been standing over when I'd entered the room was smoking like crazy. The smell of burning food filled the air, but Edward didn't seem to notice. He merely continued to look at me like he was in a daze. It wasn't until the smoke detector started wailing that he jumped into action. "Shit!" he swore as he lifted the skillet from the eye. He turned the eye off and sat the skillet down on a trivet before moving over to the window to open it. "Well the eggs are ruined, but I still have bacon and sausages if you're hungry?"

I smirked, trying my best not to laugh. "Starving actually."

"Good," Edward smiled. "Go sit your ass down and I'll bring you a plate of food."

I nodded, heading over to the dining table. Edward already had the table set with condiments and cutlery. There were even two glasses of fresh orange juice. I smiled as I took a seat, thinking this was the second time he'd cooked for me in the short time that I'd been here. I wondered if he liked to cook, or if it was just a necessity? My father had never slaved over a stove for me. I liked this feeling of being provided for, cared for.

"Dig in," Edward said as he set a plate in front of me before taking the seat across the table from me.

"Thank you," I said automatically as I looked down at the food on my plate. I didn't waste any time before I started eating.

For the next several minutes the room was filled with the sound of chewing and cutlery scraping our plates. I guess Edward was just as hungry as me. It wasn't until my plate was almost empty that I started to feel nervous. This was it. I was going to have to thank him now, before I'd waited too long to say anything. "Umm, I just wanted to say thanks, by the way… for the stuff you had Alice buy me." It wasn't the best thank you, but I'd said it. It was out there.

"You're welcome," Edward said, looking up at me in pleasant surprise. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Good, if there is anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask."

When we were both finished, I helped clear the table and load the dishwasher. It was while we were tidying up that Edward informed me that Rosalie and Emmett were coming over tonight for takeout dinner. I was both shocked and angry at his announcement. I'd told Rose to stay away from Emmett, for her own safety, but at the same time I couldn't wait to see her. We had a lot discuss, like how the hell could she not have known her father was associated with Edward and where the hell had she been yesterday when Edward came to take me back to his house? Yeah, it was going to be an interesting visit.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Sorry it's been awhile! I hope you all had a good time at the holidays. The next chapter for this one is already written. I'm gonna try and wrap this and my drabble up before updating the others.

Huge thanks to my ladies, Paige, Tiffany, Cristina & Sherry

 **Chapter 14**

"I'm sorry," Rosalie said, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. "I didn't know. I swear to you, I didn't know what my dad was up to, or that he even knew Edward. If I had, I would have warned you. I would have helped you get away since that's what you wanted. I would never have left you alone in my room waiting for him. God, you must be so pissed at me, but I swear to you I didn't know. My dad didn't even act out of character. He kept me talking the entire time about stupid, unimportant stuff like he was craving my attention. I just thought he was lonely. I tried my best to get away from him so I could get back to you, but it didn't work, and it wasn't until you'd left that he told me what had happened. I was so angry with him, Bella. I gave him an earful and you know I don't like to argue with him, but I couldn't believe he'd listened in on our conversation and called Edward."

Rosalie sighed in frustration, squeezing my hand again. She and Emmett had only arrived minutes ago, and since she'd gotten here I hadn't managed to get a word in edgewise. Thankfully, when they arrived, Emmett had insisted on having a private word with Edward, which left Rose and me alone in the living room for a much needed talk.

"My dad wants me to marry him," Rose said quietly. "Well, he 'hopes' it leads to a marriage. His words, not mine," she added when she saw the shock on my face. "Can you believe that? My father is actively encouraging me to date Emmett. I don't think he's ever actively encouraged me to date period. Apparently a marriage between our families would be good for business." She rolled her eyes for added effect. "Not that I am against dating him… I mean, I know what you told me yesterday, and I know that should send me running in the other direction, but I just don't see Emmett the way you do."

Good God. My best friend was falling in love. Hard and fast. Was there no hope for her? I knew wholeheartedly she was telling the truth about not knowing her father had called Edward, but I couldn't bring myself to believe he was willing to let his daughter date a criminal. Was this the same father who had sheltered her all her life? It was a lot for me to take in.

Rosalie, however, seemed enthralled by the idea. I guess to her it meant no more sneaking around, like she had done with past boyfriends. She could openly date and flaunt Emmett around for the whole world to see. I sighed, realizing there was probably nothing I could do now to keep them apart. Not while she had her father's blessing. Her relationship with Emmett was going to happen, whether I liked it or not. All I could do was go along with it and pray she didn't get hurt.

"So how are things with you and Edward? Was he pissed at you when he found out you were trying to run? I blew up Emmett's phone yesterday when I found out what my father had done. I had no way to contact you, but Emmett assured me you were fine, and perfectly safe with Edward. Not that I actually thought Edward would do anything to hurt you. I mean… I know you said he killed your father, but I honestly don't think they're bad men."

"He was pissed," I said, thinking back to when he found me yesterday, and choosing not to comment on whether or not they were bad men. In fact, pissed was probably an understatement for just how angry he had been, but Rose was right. He hadn't hurt me, and if I was really honest with myself, I don't think he intentionally would. I mean, he could have. He's had plenty of opportunity, but he's never laid a hand on me. Not the way my father used to. No, instead of hurting me, Edward had gone out of his way to take care of me. He had cooked for me, bought me new things and provided me with security, which was more than my father had ever done for me. Edward had shown me more kindness in a few days than I had received my entire life. Not exactly the actions of a heartless criminal, but still he was a criminal. A fact I couldn't ignore or forget. "He didn't hurt me," I assured her. "He was very firm, but he never laid a finger on me. He said he wants to help me and that he never wanted me to repay my father's money. Apparently the entire thing had been a ploy to allow him to get close to me so he could help me." As I spoke the words I knew how false they sounded. If anyone else had been sitting here, telling me the same story, I would have been calling them stupid and telling them to get out quick before it was too late. A part of me was still desperate to run, but the other part believed that Edward was genuine and he did want to help me. I just hoped I wasn't making a mistake by trusting him, even if it was only just a little.

"How much money did your dad owe him exactly?" Rosalie quizzed, but I shook my head. I wasn't willing to discuss that with her. I wasn't sure how much she knew about my father's activities. I mean she knew he was a shit dad and an asshole, but I'd tried my best to shelter her from all the other details. I was embarrassed to have a scumbag for a father, but I also didn't want that shit tainting Rose. Though I guess she wasn't as pure as I had always thought she was. Well, at least her father wasn't.

"Okay," she sighed, annoyed. "So, I am just gonna assume it was _a lot_ , and you said Edward is willing to just forget about the money? That he doesn't want anything from you?" She sounded skeptical and I couldn't blame her. I found it a hard pill to swallow too. Not that pumping me for money would do Edward any good. You couldn't get blood from a stone. "So what's the catch?"

I shrugged because I honestly didn't have an answer to give her. I'd asked myself the same question a thousand times at least.

"Are you sleeping with him?" she asked, arching her eyebrow.

"What? No!" I scoffed. "I think you're getting us confused. I am not the one who wants into one of the Cullens pants. That's you, and anyway. I. Am. Not. A. Whore. I won't sleep with Edward to pay off my father's debts. I made that perfectly clear to him the first time I met him."

"I never said you would, or that you are," Rosalie said, holding her hands up defensively. "I'm just trying to make you see what I see. Your father owed Edward a shit ton of money and rather than trying to force the money out of you, he is helping you. If that makes him a bad person then I'm not sure what it takes to make someone good."

I rolled my eyes, refusing to agree with her, even if she did have a point. Thankfully, I was saved from answering her when Emmett strolled into the room, clapping his hands and shouting "Who's up for pizza?"


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Big thanks to my dream team for fixing this one up! Paige, Sherry, Tiffany  & Cristina.

Thank you for all your reviews. Next update will be Wed/Thu

 **Chapter 15**

It turned out that none of us could agree on what to get, and when I say none of us, I mean none of them. I was happy going along with whatever they agreed on since I wasn't actually paying for the meal, Edward was. But instead of ordering from the one place like normal people would, they ended up ordering from three different restaurants. So we were currently sitting at the dining table that had more food than the four of us could ever possibly eat. There were various pizzas all over the table top as well as several Chinese and Thai dishes. It was such a waste and it angered me to think they thought nothing about dining like this when there were people in the city who were struggling to find a warm meal to eat. What annoyed me more was the fact that this probably wasn't a one-time thing. Edward and Emmett more than likely ate like this all the time because money meant nothing to them.

"Why the long face?" Rosalie asked between taking sips of her wine. She and Emmett were the only ones drinking. I didn't drink and Edward had said no when Emmett offered him a glass. They both must have been close to drinking a bottle each. I could tell Rosalie was well on her way to being drunk, but Emmett looked no worse for wear.

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head and looking down at my plate. I was trying my best to finish what I had, but Edward had filled my plate with food more food than I could eat. He'd said something about me needing to put on some weight. I knew I was a little underweight, but gorging on food wasn't the answer.

Rosalie scoffed at my answer. "Don't nothing me. I know that face. What's wrong with you?" Had she not been drinking I was sure she would have been more tactful, but as it was, she was being somewhat loud and drawing the attention of both brothers. I didn't like attention at the best of times, but I certainly didn't enjoy being under their scrutiny.

"I'm fine Rose," I insisted.

"You are not. Don't lie to me."

"Oh for fucksake, Rose! Just leave me alone," I snapped, knowing she would pester me until she got an answer and I wasn't in the mood to talk about what was bothering me.

Rose's eyes flashed with hurt as she turned away from me to look down at her plate. "I'm sorry I asked," she said in a voice that was barely audible. I sighed, knowing I had gone too far. She'd been genuinely asking me to see if I was okay, and because I was in a mood, I had bitten her head off. It wasn't her fault I was feeling bitter and angry. I shouldn't have taken it out on her. I would apologize to her later, once we were alone.

I glanced up to see what the others had made of our exchange. Emmett was looking down at his plate, eating his pizza like it was the best thing he had ever tasted, and completely ignoring the atmosphere in the room. Edward, however, was staring at me. When he caught me looking at him, he raised his eyebrow in question. I wasn't sure if it was an 'are you okay?' look or a 'what the fuck was that?' look.

I decided to go with the 'are you okay' look. "I'm fine," I muttered, hoping he would just drop the matter, but he didn't say anything in response. He merely continued to stare at me until the atmosphere became unbearable. His gaze was so intense I squirmed in my seat, wishing he would look away and just leave me alone. At some point Emmett and Rosalie must have noticed our silent exchange because they both stopped eating to stare at us.

When I'd finally had enough, I dropped my cutlery on my plate and snapped. "Fine. You want to know what's bothering me, I'll tell you. It annoys me that you've ordered so much food. There are so many people out there starving and you all order food like it's nothing. You're probably going to toss it out like it's nothing too. I bet you haven't a clue what it's like to go hungry. I bet you haven't a clue what it's like not to have three meals a day. Money means nothing to you."

Maybe I should have thought about my words before I let them escape my mouth because now Edward looked pissed. Even Emmett and Rose looked shocked by what I'd said. I hadn't planned on sharing my thoughts, but Edward had a way of pushing my buttons so when he sat there looking at me like he expected me to say something, well, I let my temper get the best of me.

"Don't presume to know me," Edward said dryly. "But you're right about something-"

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"It's not right to waste all this food when there are people out there who need it. We should give it to them."

I was shocked by his words. I didn't know what to say, but Rosalie seemed to find the entire exchange amusing. She was laughing and she wasn't even trying to hide it. "You're right," she said, leaning toward me. "He's totally a bad person."

I rolled my eyes at her before turning my attention to Edward. "Are you being serious? You're going to give this food to someone who needs it?"

"Not I, we. I think it's only fair since it was your idea." I nodded, that did seem only fair. "Why don't we pack it up and we'll go and deliver it. Did you have someone or some place in mind?"

"I suppose…" I said, thinking back to the people who came to mind when I first thought about the food going to waste. "There are homeless people not far from my old house, that I'm sure could use it."

"Excellent. Then we'll take it to them." Edward stood and began repacking the containers. I quickly got to my feet and started helping him. I was completely blown away by his suggestion. I had to admit there was more to this man than the ruthless criminal I thought him to be. I believed I was only beginning to see the layers beneath his rough exterior.

"Are you coming with us?" I asked Rosalie as Edward walked over to the kitchen area to grab us some bags to make it easier to carry everything. Giving the food to someone who needed it was a good idea, but I hadn't thought past the idea. I hadn't thought about who would actually deliver the food and now that it was established that Edward and I would take it, I wasn't sure I wanted to be alone with him.

"No," Rosalie said, smiling. "I'll stay here with Emmett. Let you have some alone time with Prince Charming, or should I call him the Evil King since you're still determined he's a bad person." Okay, the wine was definitely having an effect on Rosalie. Bitch. I didn't find her comment amusing in the slightest; Emmett, however, was doubled over with laughter.

"What did I miss?" Edward asked, approaching the table.

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head. "Let's go."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Thank you very much to my girls, Paige, Tiffany, Sherry & Cristina!

Thanks for all your reviews! I haven't got the next chapter written yet, but will hopefully find time at the weekend.

 **Chapter 16**

"You and Rosalie looked deep in conversation earlier," Edward stated as he kept his attention on the road. We were currently in his car, on the way to hand out the leftover takeaway. After Rose's comment about Prince Charming, I grabbed the bags from Edward and packed up most of the food. I hadn't wanted to tell him why Emmett was laughing or what Rose found so amusing. Thankfully, he hadn't pushed me for an answer. He helped me pack the food, we took it to the car and then we left.

We had both been sitting in a somewhat comfortable silence until now. I didn't believe for a second he was just trying to strike up a conversation with me. He was fishing for information and there was no way I was about to tell him he had been the subject of our conversation.

"Were we?" I asked, feigning disinterest.

"Yeah," he said, glancing over me. "What were you talking about?"

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. So subtle, Edward. Not. "I honestly can't remember."

"You weren't making any more stupid plans were you?" he asked, glancing at me again. I could almost see the concern on his face. Did he think I was planning on running again? Was he worried? I did roll my eyes this time.

"No, Edward. I wasn't making any plans to run off. Anyway, I don't think Rosalie would allow me to leave. She's like your new ambassador or something."

"Rosalie likes me?" he asked, surprised.

"Yep."

"At least one of you has sense," he muttered.

"What was that?" I asked, challenging him to repeat himself even though I heard him perfectly fine. Just because I didn't 'like' him didn't mean I didn't have sense. In fact, I would argue that it meant I had more sense. I was being cautious. Smart. I wasn't tripping over his good looks and kind gestures. God, Rosalie was ready to drop her panties at Emmett's first smile. Okay, that was unkind. I didn't know if she had actually dropped her panties yet, but I was sure it was only a matter of time.

"Nothing," he said, flicking the turn signal and pulling off to the side of the road. "We're here."

I glanced out the car window to see we were indeed here, which surprised me because I hadn't told Edward where the homeless area was located. He hadn't asked but I'd presumed he was going to ask once we got closer. "How did you know where to go?" I asked, turning to face him.

"I make it my job to know what goes on in my city," he said, with a wicked smile. "You said there were homeless people near your old house so I put two and two together and came up with four. It wasn't rocket science."

I clenched my fist wanting to smack his smart ass mouth, but I knew he would only get satisfaction out of pissing me off. So I decided to sass him instead. "So you're not just a pretty face after all." I opened the car door and jumped out before he could reply, feeling pleased with myself.

Edward got out of the car and walked around to meet me. He had a smug look on his face. "I thought you said you didn't like me?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I did."

"But you just said I have a pretty face."

"A nice face doesn't make up the entire package. You may have a pretty face, but you lack in other areas." Ha! Take that, Edward, you cocky bastard.

He didn't get the chance to reply because a car pulled up behind us. I tensed, wondering who it was. I mean it did look like a similar model to Edward's, but that didn't mean the car had anything to do with him. The windows were tinted, making it too dark to see who was inside. "It's okay," he said, lightly placing his hand on my arm. "It's just a few guards. I make a habit of never going far without them. You never know what might happen."

Right, guards, because he's a criminal and I'm sure he has plenty of enemies. For a moment there, I'd almost forgotten who he was. But the strange thing was I hadn't noticed them following us. Were they at the house when we left or had they joined us later on the road?

I should have noticed them. I should have known they were there. I made it a habit to never lower my guard, but for some reason I had. When I was with Edward I seemed to forget about everything else around me. I mean, I didn't trust him and I was wary of him, yet when I was with him, I only paid attention to him. Not to the world around me. That wasn't good. I would have to be more cautious.

"Shall we?" Edward asked, moving to the back of his car. He opened the trunk and we took out the leftover takeaway. The guards stayed in the second car, making it easy to forget they were there.

We handed out the leftovers and like I figured, the homeless people were thankful for the food. They were so grateful that they couldn't stop thanking us, even when I asked them not to. I hadn't done it for the gratitude. I just didn't want the food to go to waste when they could have used it.

On a few occasions I noticed Edward slipping money to several people. He had done it when he thought I wasn't looking, which told me he had done it because he cared, not because he was trying to score points with me. I liked that.

We spent the better part of an hour talking to them, but when it began to get too cold, Edward said it was time to go home. I said my goodbyes and headed to the car with Edward. We said nothing as we both got in and Edward proceeded to turn the heat on full blast. However, I couldn't help but notice that we were both smiling. I'd enjoyed my time with Edward and it had felt good to help people in need. In fact, I wanted to find ways to help them more. Maybe that was something I could look into, now that I was free of my father.

"Thank you," I said, finally breaking the silence after we'd been driving for a while. "I appreciate you doing that and I know those people did as well."

"You're welcome," Edward said, smiling at me. "I enjoyed spending time with you and helping them. Like I said, I'm not the heartless criminal you seem to think I am."

I never got the chance to reply to him. The sound of a car horn blaring pierced the air, followed by a loud crash. Before I knew what was happening, we were being thrown from our seats. I felt my seatbelt tugging around me, trying to pull me back, but it was too late. My head hit the front console, followed by the side window and then everything went dark.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** Thanks to the Dream Team, Sherry, Paige, Tiffany & Cristina. I'd be lost without you girls.

Sorry this chapter took so long to post x

 **Chapter 17**

"Bella! Bella!" I was vaguely aware of someone calling my name, urging me to wake-up, but opening my eyes seemed almost impossible. I felt so tired, so drained, like I hadn't slept in days. All I wanted to do was rest, but the voice kept calling to me, willing me to wake-up. It sounded so desperate and I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why. Had something happened? Was there something I was forgetting?

I searched my mind, trying to remember something, anything, that would clue me into what was going on, but I couldn't seem to come up with any answers. Every time I tried to recall what happened, I was met with nauseating pain that seemed to catapult me further into subconsciousness.

I drifted, for what felt like hours.

Alone.

Floating in the black abyss, with nothing, and no one to keep me company. I'd never felt so frightened and lonely.

"Bella, please baby, wake-up." When I finally managed to pry my eyes open, it was to the sound of his pained voice. He brought me back from the darkness and guided me toward the light. A voice in my head said there was something significant about the fact that he was the one to call me back, but I pushed that thought aside, trying my best to focus on what was happening around me.

I found myself lying in a hospital bed, in an unfamiliar room. Edward was standing at the side of the bed, his hands anxiously grasping the bed-rail as he looked down at me with worry. "You're awake," he sighed with relief.

"I'm awake," I agreed as I lay there looking at him. Only this time I really looked at him. His hair was a mess; it looked like he had been pulling at it for hours. He had a cut on the top of his forehead, which held together by a couple of Steri-Strip bandages. His clothes were crumpled and stained. I had never seen him so unkempt. "What happened?" I croaked.

Edward didn't answer me; instead he lifted the pitcher from the bedside table and filled my mug the hospital provided for patients. He silently brought it to my lips, offering me a drink though the straw. I gulped the water greedily. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was until he offered it to me. "What do you remember?" He asked as he set the empty mug back down on the table.

I shook my head in answer, instantly regretting the action as it caused a shooting pain in my head. "I'm not sure," I mumbled. "Everything is a little fuzzy."

Edward smiled down at me sympathetically. "We were in a car accident. You hit your head pretty hard. The doctors sent you to X-ray for a CT while you were unconscious, it's nothing permanent. Just a concussion, but you'll have to take it easy for a little while."

I nodded, wincing as the action caused another jarring pain. I needed to learn to stop doing that shit. "So, uh, was it truly an accident?" I asked, worried that James had somehow found us and tried to run us off the road. He was just the right amount of crazy to try something that stupid.

Edward sighed, before looking at me reluctantly. I gathered that whatever he was about to tell me was something he hadn't been planning to share with me. "No. It wasn't an accident. It would appear that someone tipped James off to our location and he sent his little lapdog to take us out."

"Someone tipped him off?" I asked, swallowing hard. We were out there trying to help people and someone had knowingly told James we were there? I looked down at my hands, fidgeting with the sheet as I tried to digest that information. I couldn't understand why anyone would endanger someone who was trying to help them. And to make matters worse, it had been my idea to go there. I had talked Edward into taking the food, and by doing that, I had put him in danger. "I'm sorry," I said as I looked back up at him, my eyes brimming with tears.

"Hey," Edward said, moving closer to me as he gently cupped my face. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But I forced you to go there," I argued.

Edward laughed. "You didn't force me to do anything, Bella. You suggested we take the food and I agreed. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I failed to protect you and because of that you're now lying in a hospital bed."

"That's not your fault," I said, shaking my head and grimacing. "You didn't know someone would try to kill us with a car."

"True," Edward agreed as he gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. "My guards tried to warn us, but by the time I saw the car coming it was too late to do anything. I was somewhat distracted."

"Distracted by what?" I asked, breathlessly.

"You."

I didn't know what to make of his words. I didn't know what to say. Apparently neither did Edward because we both stared at each other without speaking as he continued to gently caress my cheek. At one point, I licked my lips and Edward looked down at them like he wanted to kiss me. I realized then, I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted to feel his mouth on mine. I wanted to know what he tasted like. I wondered if his kisses would be just as domineering as his personality.

But before either of us had the chance to find out, his cell phone rang, breaking the spell. Edward moved away from me with a sigh. He pulled his cell from his pocket and looked at the screen. "I have to take this," he said, glancing over at me. "I'll just be outside the door."

I nodded my agreement, berating myself as the movement caused me more pain. I watched him walk over to the door, realizing he hadn't told me who James' lapdog was. "Who was driving the car that hit us?" I asked as he reached for the door handle.

Edward turned to look at me, his phone still ringing in his hand, demanding his attention. "Laurent," he said, cautiously.

"What happened to him?" I asked, unsure if I really wanted to know the answer to that question.

"I had him brought in for questioning."

"Okay," I answered, knowing I didn't want any more information. Laurent's fate was his problem. H'd chosen the path he was on and now he would have to live with the consequences. I wasn't going to worry about someone who'd never helped me.

Edward eyed me for a second before nodding and slipping out the door. I'm not sure, but I got the feeling he'd expected me to react to his words. Maybe he expected me to protest, or demand he set Laurent free. Perhaps he expected me to bristle at the underlying meaning of what he said. Either way, Edward seemed to forget that the world I came from wasn't all sunshine and roses. I'd grown-up with a drug dealing father and without a mother because she killed herself. I wasn't so easily fazed. In time, he would realize that.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Big thanks to the Dream Team; Sherry, Paige, Tiffany & Cristina. You girls rock my world.

Sorry the updates have been slow. RL has been kicking my ass.

 **Chapter 18**

Edward seemed to be on his cell for ages. I could hear the faint sound of his voice from the other side of the door, although I couldn't make out a single word he said. However, just knowing he was out there was comforting. If I was truly honest with myself, I was a little shaken up after the crash. I couldn't understand why James would go to such extremes to get me. Was it an infatuation? Was he mentally disturbed? I mean, I always knew he had a thing for me. I had slept often enough with one eye open, as they say, but the fact he was willing to go against someone like Edward was just crazy. It didn't make sense, but then James never made much sense to me.

I sighed as I shifted uncomfortably in the bed. I really needed to go to the bathroom, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be up on my feet or if I was supposed to call for a nurse. I didn't have a catheter in, I knew that much, but I couldn't see the remote with the button to call the nurse anywhere. Not that I wanted to have to rely on someone to take me. I also worried that if I didn't go before Edward got back he'd insist on taking me. I could just imagine him standing over me as I tried to pee. Yeah. Not happening. That last image definitely made my mind up. I was going to the bathroom before he finished his call.

The bedrails on either side of the bed were up, but with a little bit of wriggling, okay, a lot of wriggling, tugging and pulling, I finally managed to get one of them down. I told myself that was the easy part, but fuck, it felt like I'd run a marathon and I hadn't even got out of the bed yet. I slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed and took a deep breath before I lowered my feet onto the floor to stand. My legs weren't as steady as I would have liked, but I kept reminding myself of the image of Edward with me in the bathroom. It helped to spur me on.

I slowly walked over to the bathroom door, my head spinning with every step. At one point, I thought Edward was going to come in and find me in a heap on the floor. In the end, I made it to the bathroom, even if it did involve a lot of leaning on the wall to hold myself upright and shaking. I quickly did my business and washed my hands. When I was finished, I stood staring into the mirror, surveying the damage. My face was a mess. I had a large cut at the top of my head, which was pretty similar to Edward's. My face was covered with bruises and small cuts; I suppose that was from the shattered glass. I also had the beginning of two black eyes. Not my most attractive look, but there wasn't a lot I could do about it. In time, it would heal. I just had a feeling that Edward was going to be protectively hovering over me until then. I wasn't looking forward to that.

I heard the door to the room open as I stood there staring at myself in the mirror. Edward must have finished his call. I half expected him to call out to me, wondering where I'd gone, but when he didn't say anything I shouted out to him. "I'm in the bathroom. I'll be out in a sec." There wasn't a response, which was strange. I got a gnawing feeling in my gut. The kind you get when you know something is about to go wrong, but instead of listening to it, I ignored it. I told myself I was just being paranoid. The crash had shaken me up, that was all. Nothing was going to go wrong. But I couldn't have been more wrong.

I walked over to the bathroom door, planning to open it and see why Edward wasn't answering me. However, as I walked toward the door, it was kicked open with such a force that I was sent flying across the bathroom. I let out a cry of agony as my head smacked against the wall and I slid to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

I must have blacked out, because one second I was lying in a heap on the floor against the wall. The next, I was sprawled out on the floor with a very angry James looming over me. "You," I stuttered as I lay there staring up at him in disbelief. How the hell had he managed to get in here? How had he managed to get past Edward? Where was Edward? Had he hurt him? Was he okay? A thousand questions ran through my mind as I tried to comprehend what was happening.

"Me," James said, looking very pleased with himself. "Did you miss me, Bella?" He reached out toward me and ran a finger down the side of my face. The action caused a deep, chilling shudder to run through my entire body. "I've certainly missed you." If it wasn't for the fact I was lying on the floor suffering from injuries he had caused, I might have almost believed him. His eyes looked sincere. Yes, he had missed me, but I doubted it was in the sense that a normal person would miss someone.

"I don't understand why you've been so difficult," he muttered, but I think it was more to himself than me. "You act like I'm the bad guy here, but I wasn't the one who killed your father. No, that was Cullen and instead of running from him, what do you do? You shack up with him and play the happy family.

"You should have come to me. When that bastard killed your father, you should have come to me. I would have protected you. I would have taken you in, made you mine. You _are_ mine!" he shouted, grabbing my hair and jerking my head for emphasis. "You belong to me, Bella! Your father promised I could have you. I've been waiting all these years to have you, and I _will_ have you," he seethed.

"Did you honestly think I would walk away and let _him_ have you? You're mine," he snapped. "You belong to me, Bella. I. Own. You."

I stared at him as I lay there frozen on the floor. Too scared to speak or move in case I set him off. I had no idea what he was talking about or why he thought I belonged to him. Had my father really promised me to him? My father was capable of many shitty things, but to promise me to a man like James? I wasn't sure he would even sink that low… but then again, he gave me to Edward in an attempt to save his lousy life. Was being a bargaining chip all I had been to my father? Someone to use so he could get his own way? Had he been using me all these years? Dangling me over James' head like a carrot, so he could control him? I thought my life couldn't sink any lower, but I guess I was wrong.

"Answer me," James growled, but I didn't have a clue what he had asked me. He grabbed my shoulders and began to shake me roughly. I could feel my eyes swimming to the back of my head as he banged it against the floor. My mind slowly began to shutdown, even though I fought to stay conscious. The last thing I wanted to do was to blackout around James, but no matter how hard I fought, darkness consumed me.


End file.
